Advances in 3D printing technology could enable patients to create prescription drugs at home. This was announced at the Dubai Health Forum conference.
It is about treating chronic diseases. Specialists from the Dubai Health Authority are confident that they will soon be able to implement this technology in patients' homes.
In their opinion, this will reduce the cost of expensive drugs, such as cancer.
FabRx from the UK, which is developing this technology in the pharmaceutical field, presented new developments at the forum.
“Our idea is to bring this technology to hospitals, clinics and homes. Patients will be able to 'print' the correct dosage or drug combinations themselves. If used correctly, this method will be cheaper and faster for patients. Hospitals do not currently produce medicines, but this may change, and medical centers will be able to launch their own production process,”said company spokesman Alvaro Goyanes.
Pharmacists will have to determine the exact dosage for each blank that will be used to print batches of tablets. The blanks will be sold to hospitals to print the drugs on their own equipment. This will reduce the risk of making counterfeit drugs, the developers say.
These technologies have already been tested on animals, but the creators will need another two years to get approval from the regulators.
3D printing of medicines at home will be strictly controlled, and access to the equipment used for printing will be possible using special codes.
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