3D printing has potential applications in pharmaceutical research and manufacturing by enabling customized drug dosages, unique dosage forms, and improved drug release kinetics. It may allow printing of living tissues and personalized drug dosing. 3D printing could drastically reduce drug development costs by replacing animal testing with drug testing on 3D-printed tissues. The FDA has already approved one 3D-printed drug, indicating this technology could transform pharmaceutical manufacturing.

2. Introduction-
New possibilities in 3D printing may open up a whole
new chapter of opportunities for pharmaceutical
research and bio-technology applications. There are a
number of ways it could be used — drug dosage forms,
supporting delivery, or helping to research cures.
3D printing has been around for many
years; predominantly been used in manufacturing. This
type of printing, also called stereo lithography, can
create almost any object by fusing different materials,
layer by layer, to form a physical version of a digital
3D image.

3. The 3D printing concept of custom manufacturing is
exciting to nearly everyone. This revolutionary method
for creating 3D models with the use of inkjet
technology saves time and cost by eliminating the need
to design; print and glue together separate model
parts. Now, you can create a complete model in a
single process using 3D printing.
Pharmaceutical drug research and development could
be improved drastically by 3D printing. Rather than
printing objects made out of plastic or metal, imagine
printing pills or human organs and tissue.

4. Physical prototypes realized in shape, texture and color
go far beyond drawings or computer models to
communicate your vision in a dramatic way. Through 3D
printing before the product is ever produced, people can
touch it; feel it; turn it left, right and upside down; and
look inside. they can test it, operate it and fully
evaluate it-long before the finished product is brought
to market.
FDA recently approved a 3D-printed drug product in
August 2015, which is indicative of a new chapter for
pharmaceutical manufacturing.

5. 3D Printing will-
• Improve communication within the product development
organization;
• Shorten design cycles;
• Put superior products on the market ahead the
competition;
• Stretch R&D dollars;
• Improve accuracy;
• Eliminate costly mistakes;
• Trigger unexpected ideas;
• Drive innovation and quality; and Improve collaboration
among engineering, sales, marketing and the executive
team.

6. 3D printing is now enabling much more innovation in
this area, with many researchers investigating the
kinetic properties of shapes that were once very
difficult to manufacture. 3D printed pyramid-shaped
tablets, for instance, may gain popularity as a format
for fast-acting remedies because they have been found
to release drugs more rapidly than standard cylinder-
shaped pills.

8. Traditional manufacturing vs. 3D printing

9. Applications
of 3D printing
in Pharmacy
Personalized
drug dosing
Unique
dosage
forms
Improved
kinetics for
drug release
Printing
living
tissue

10. 3D printing will also strongly impact pharma business by-
Changes to R & D –
Developing a new drug costs upward of US$4 billion.
Even after extensive testing in the lab and on animals
only a handful of drugs are successful enough to go on
to clinical trials in humans. Astonishingly, the failure
rate of drugs in clinical trials is 90% because humans
and animals often respond differently.
3D printing can solve this problem. Bio printing has
already had some success. Last year, a two-year-old
girl in Illinois, born without a trachea, received a
windpipe built with her own stem cells.

11. It turns out that the surface area-to-volume ratio is
an important property and determinant in kinetics of
drug release. A pyramid and standard cylinder are not
created equal—with the pyramid able to deliver drug
more expediently based on kinetic studies. The take-
away point is that the one-size-fits-all approach is not
optimal for patients who require continuous adjustments
in their dosage.

12. A technique using 3D printing referred to as “hot
melt extrusion” has developed to produce many odd
shaped medications which are quite difficult to
manufacture using standard production techniques. The
true advantage of hot melt extrusion is that such odd
shaped medications demonstrate improved kinetics for
drug release.

13. Since we know that some patients require medications
that are faster acting, while others need medications
to be released more gradually over a longer period of
time, 3D printing offers one the ability to customize
medications for individual patient needs.

14. Another application of 3D printing in the biomedical
field is that of creating limbs and other body parts
out of metal or other materials to replace lost or
damaged limbs. 3D printing is being used to design and
produce custom prosthetic limbs to meet the patient’s
exact requirements.
By scanning the patient’s body and existing bone
structure, designers and engineers are able to re-
create the lost part of that limb.

15. FDA approves the first 3D printed drug product
The US Food and Drug Administration (F.D.A) has
given the go-ahead to the world's first 3D-printed
drug, Spritam, which is designed to treat seizures
brought on by epilepsy in adults and children. The drug
was developed using Pennsylvania-based Aprecia
Pharmaceuticals' proprietary .

16. Future trends
• 3D printing is expected to play an important role in
the trend toward personalized medicine, through its
use in customizing nutritional products, organs, and
drugs.
• 3D printing is expected to be especially common in
pharmacy settings. The manufacturing and distribution
of drugs could conceivably be replaced by emailing
databases of medication formulations to pharmacies for
on-demand drug printing. This would cause existing
drug manufacturing and distribution methods to change
drastically and become more cost-effective.

17. Conclusion
•Reduces time
•Enables delocalization of manufacturing.
•Create opportunities for improving the safety,
efficacy, and accessibility of medicines.
•Drug testing on 3D-printed tissues will replace animal
trials
•Enables customization: The era of “mass
customization”

18. •New era of “social manufacturing”.
•“On demand’’ process: raw materials, or feedstock,
need to be close at hand.
•Internet community + cloud + 3D Printing = next big
thing!
•Low cost might play a bigger role in developing
countries.
•Used in several sectors, allows innovation.
•Can have an impact like any other technology .
•Might change the future.