3D Printing of Medicines Begins in Some Pharmacies

YLE, the Finnish broadcasting company, featured CurifyLabs on their main evening news on TV 6th of November and made a great story on their website. 

The story by Teemu Hallamaa describes how CurifyLabs has enabled 3D printing of medicines in pharmacies. 

Read the full article here:

https://yle.fi/a/74-20058282?utm_medium=social&utm_source=copy-link-share

Here's a summary about the text in English:

"In Finland, 3D printing of medicines has become a reality, with certain pharmacies offering 3D-printed medications to human patients. This innovation is made possible by Curifylabs, a growth company that has developed 3D printing technology for both veterinary and human medications. The technology allows for customization of medication dosage, shape, dissolution rate, and taste. This development is particularly beneficial in pediatric medicine and other situations where standard medication options may not be suitable and the doctor determines that a compounded drug is necessary.

Curifylabs focuses on pharmaceutical inks, which are chemically compatible with various excipients, ensuring drug stability during and after printing. By the end of the year, Curifylabs plans to have a range of tested inks for 25 different active substances.

Curifylabs aims to be a global player in this field, initially focusing on Europe, where pharmacy-based drug manufacturing, compounding, is more common than in Finland. The regulator is also interviewed in the article and the article concludes that under compounding regulations 3D printing is allowed, but in case 3D printed drugs would be sold as commercially registered drugs, it would require a change to regulations.

The company's primary goal is to revolutionize ex temporaneous drug manufacturing in pharmacies using 3D printing, allowing for more precise and customized treatments for patients who can’t benefit from drugs with market authorization."

Photo credit: Antti Haanpää/YLE