This document proposes using chewing gum as a delivery method for over-the-counter pharmaceuticals. It notes that chewing gum has a long history and is a multi-billion dollar industry. The document outlines how drugs could be loaded into biodegradable microspheres and released through chewing gum over a sustained period. This approach could reduce medical costs and increase access to care. It discusses testing nicotine and aspirin through this method and developing the business model, including crowd funding and FDA approval. The goal is to deliver drugs non-invasively for conditions like allergies, coughs, and skin issues.

1. Banned in Singapore!
Presented by
Gray Ghosts
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2. Brief History and Economic Impact
• Chewing gum has a 5,000 year history!
• Post-WWII, ingredients shifted to more
artificial mixes – more like polymers now
• Sales exceed $20 Billion per year!
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3. Traditional Uses
• Glue or sealer
• Blow bubbles (bubble gum)
• Relaxation
• Breath cleanser
• Window putty
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4. Artistic Uses
• Sculpture
• Base for miniature painting
• Wall paper
• Wrapper origami shapes
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5. Interesting Uses
• Insect repellant (spearmint oil)
• Bait for catfish or crabs
• Political advertising on wrappers
• Personalized party favors
• Weight loss
• Peak performance enhancer for tests
• Recycled as running track or fertilizer
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6. Re-Framed Use
• Non-invasive drug delivery for Over The
Counter (OTC) pharmaceuticals
• US Market $23 Billion in 2010
• Benefits estimated at $6-7 per $1 of sales or
– Range of $138 to 161 Billion – times 3 per cent
– Estimate Value = $4.14 – 4.83 Billion per year
(Consumer Health-US, Enomaster Int’l, 2011)
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7. Expected Benefits
• Reduce number of sick days
• Reduce time off from work for medical office
visits
• Increase access for medical care for 180
Million US residents
• Avoid the need for costly prescription drugs
(Knowledge Network Survey)
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8. How Would It Work?
• Drugs loaded in biodegradable microspheres
• Size up to 1 mm
• Drugs best matched for sustained release over
a specific period of time
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9. Goals
• Deliver a pharmaceutical compound to the
body as needed to safely achieve the desired
therapeutic effect.
• Modify the drug release profile
absorption, distribution, and elimination for
the benefit of improving product
efficiency, safety as well as patient
convenience and compliance.
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10. Over The Counter (OTC) Target Areas
• Allergies
• Analgesics
• Anti-fungal
• Cough/colds/flu
• Lower/upper Gastrointestinal (GI) tract
• Medicated skin
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11. Possible Pathways for Treatments
• By mouth
• Topical (skin)
• Nasal
• Vaginal, ocular, rectal or inhalation
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12. Have Similar Approaches Ever Been
Tested?
• Nicotine
• Aspirin
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13. Solution Avoids Most Delivery
Problems
• Some drugs require injection or nano-needles
to administer because of molecule size or
charge issues
• Others are susceptible to enzyme degradation
• No known additional allergy problems
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14. Next Steps
• Use Kickstarter to crowd source startup
funding
• Evolve the Business Case Canvas
• Complete a pilot that can scale up
• Identify and form partnerships
• Finish any required FDA testing
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15. Customer Discovery Philosophy
• Ascertain whether there’s product/market fit by
finding early evangelists, understanding their
needs, and verifying that the initial minimum viable
product (MVP) solves a problem they’ll eagerly pay
to have solved.
• If not, use near-continuous customer feedback to
drive agile, frequent changes in product and business
model alike.
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16. Key Partners
(Others essential to
success of business)
Key Activities
(Potential show stoppers)
(Critical path)
Value Proposition
(Market size;
Product/Service)
(What is the
product/service, it’s
benefits, and MVP)
Market type hypothesis
and competitive set
differentiation
Customer Relationships
(How will demand be
created?)
Customer Segments
(Who is the customer and
what problems the
product solves?)
Key Resources
(Suppliers, commodities
or other essential
elements)
Channels
(How distributed and
sold?)
Cost Structure
(Inside sales/field sales, development costs,
infrastructure costs, support costs)
Revenue Streams
(Revenue and profit sources and size)
Business Model Canvas (Blank and Dorf, 2012)
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17. Forward!
• Are there any questions or comments?
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