Point of use production of liposomal solubilised products

Both the pre-clinical development and clinical use of many drugs remains hindered by their low solubility. Indeed, the ability to produce medicines in a liquid format remains a major consideration in pediatric and children’s medicines. Liquid dosage forms can also offer advantages as age-appropriate formulations, they offer flexibility in dosing and provide wider options for those who suffer from dysphagia. Tablets in particular can cause issues for paediatric dosing; for example, the World Health Organization noted that 4 children under 36 months in age died due to choking in a deworming campaign in Ethiopia during 2007 (WHO, 2007). They also noted that medical personnel are having to either break up tablets, dissolve them in solvents, or administer the powder contained in a capsule to young children as a relevant liquid drug delivery system isn’t available for that drug. However, there are a number of risks associated with these methods including difficulties in splitting and dividing of tablet doses and ensuring the drug can be reconstituted in water in a homogeneous system. Therefore, new solutions for such medicines are needed to overcome these issues.