Will future pharma companies not produce any drugs?

We have gotten used to these crazy times in that: Uber (the biggest taxi company) owns no cars. Facebook (the biggest media company) doesn’t employ any journalists. Airbnb (the biggest property booking platform) doesn’t own any apartments.

So does it even sound crazy to claim that pharmaceutical companies might soon not produce drugs anymore? Yes, it does! The sharing economy might work pretty straightforward for cars or apartments. It’s simple to imagine someone having a car or apartment wanting to earn an extra buck. On the other hand we all sometimes need a ride or place to stay in a foreign city.

But who else than a pharma company that’s specialized on the discovery, development and production of pharmaceuticals should manufacture drugs?

Let’s change our perspective: If you want a perfect dinner, you go to your grandma and she cooks your favorite dish. She knows that you’re allergic to peanuts, that you hate raisins and want extra tomatoes. You get a perfect, individual meal. You don’t buy frozen food from the gas station that was produced a few weeks ago far away and possibly contains preserving agents and ingredients that you don’t like.

What does this analogy have to do with pharmaceuticals?

A lot. If you stay in a hospital or have diseases like high blood pressure you often have to take 5 or 6 or more pills every day. Some of them you even have to break in half because they are in a completely wrong dosage and generally you won’t ever receive the perfect individual dosage. Taking pills is a super unpleasant experience not tailored to individual patient’s needs. Taking pills as a patient is like getting frozen food from the gas station when you’re hungry — it serves the purpose but is it’s not a nice solution.

So why aren’t single pills (or whatever form best suited for a patient) containing all individually required substances in their individually fitted dosage 3D-printed locally in a hospital or pharmacy to meet patient’s needs?

3-D printing has been around for a long time now and has already found application in medical devices and biotech industries to print implants and even living tissue (bioprinting). It’s a cost effective way to provide individualized treatment. And it’s already being used in drug manufacturing!

In 2015 Spritam has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as the first 3D printed drug. It’s a drug to treat epilepsy with slim layers being repeatedly printed on top of each other containing powder of the active substance. This allows highly individualized dosage, printed locally by healthcare providers.

There would be less problems with compliance and less confusion if (especially impaired) patients had to take just one 3D-printed drug containing a therapeutic combination fitted to their needs. Also, there wouldn’t be supply bottlenecks and pharma companies would not produce drugs anymore. They would merely license recipes/formulations and focus on development and discovery of new pharmaceuticals. Local, decentralized manufacturing might be the future of drug manufacturing.