Pharma, Pharmaceutics and Biotechnology Conference

The mechanism of drug delivery systems ensures the effectiveness of drugs by impacting modes of administration, release, and absorption within the body. This session will focus on the main types of drug delivery systems with special interest in innovative technologies and approaches towards improving efficacy, safety, and compliance of therapeutics-a particularly significant context for infectious diseases.

Efficient drug delivery systems ensure that the therapeutic agent reaches the target location at the appropriate time and in the right concentration. The limitations in the bioavailability, dosing frequency, and patient adherence related to traditionally practiced methods of oral and intravenous drug administration have been valid reasons for researchers to continuously develop newer delivery technologies.

Controlled release systems are yet another major innovation in drug delivery. These are systems that deliver a drug for an appropriate period, and with time, allow the slow release of a drug for a suitably long period. Such systems could enhance the outcome of therapy through minimized fluctuations in drug levels within the bloodstream, reduced dosing frequency, and decreased undesirable effects.

Examples include polymer-based formulations and implants for long-term release. Drug delivery also transformed with nanotechnology: Nanoparticles can encapsulate drugs so that drugs may be targeted to a site at the tissue-specific or cell-specific level. This means diminishing off-target effects, thereby enhancing the therapeutic index of drugs.

This is important in infectious disease treatments where the goal is not only to eliminate pathogens but also to do it precisely. Liposomal delivery systems constitute a new set of concepts wherein the drugs are encapsulated in lipid bilayers. Besides enhancement of solubility and stability of the drug, liposomes can be configured to target selectively regions of inflammation or infection. Some of the emerging techniques that have featured in this regard include painless delivery systems of vaccines and other therapeutics involving micro needles that improve patient compliance while minimizing the risks of needle-stick injuries.

Another development has been in the oral delivery system to hasten the absorption of biologics which were historically injected because their instability in the gastrointestinal tract made them unsuitable for direct ingestion. The broad overview of current drug delivery systems and their impact on therapeutic efficacy would be presented to the attendees.

Innovations, current research, and challenges posed in the development of effective drug delivery for some infectious diseases would be presented.