A new report, based on input from industry experts, says that there is growing market potential for the integration of electronic functionality into drug-delivery devices. Published by Cambridge Consultants (Cambridge, UK), "2020: A New Drug Delivery Landscape" summarizes the proceedings of two workshops hosted by Cambridge Consultants and attended by experts from the drug-delivery and pharmaceutical industries, including representatives from giants such as Astra Zeneca, Novartis, and GSK as well as start-ups. Held in Boston and Leicestershire, UK, in April 2009, the workshops focused on the key issues and opportunities that will influence the drug-delivery industry over the next 10 years. According to the report, devices with advanced electronic functionality are expected to take an increasing share of the systemic delivery market in the next few years, constituting a major growth opportunity for innovative companies. A perspective prevalent in the United States is that complex electronics technologies are maturing, enabling regulators and pharmaceuticals companies to gain the confidence needed for broad acceptance. While upbeat on the prospects of incorporating new technologies into drug-delivery devices, delegates from Europe pointed to increasing regulation surrounding waste and environmental impact. Issues such as battery and microelectronics disposal will require specific measures if they are not to impede the proliferation of such advanced devices. Andrew Diston, Global Medtech Practice Leader at Cambridge Consultants, remarks, "The world of pharmaceutical delivery is poised to realize many of the benefits of technological advances from other industries, where standards are reaching towards the requirements for medical applications. These workshops identified much optimism in the market. Reliable microelectronics platforms may provide significant additional functionality and connectivity for new delivery devices, providing great opportunities for innovative pharma companies and new start-ups alike to play a part in this healthcare revolution." While delegates acknowledged that there is a severe short-term shortage of investment capital to fund such innovation, the long-term outlook is more hopeful. "Governments in Europe and the U.S. are carefully considering the impact of an aging population and increasing chronic disease on the future cost of healthcare," Diston says. "The result of this will be a renewed effort to make healthcare expenditure go further, which will mean a renewed focus on efficient systems that deliver better patient outcomes. The future leaders in this new market may be those companies that capitalize on the opportunity to significantly improve patient outcomes through enhanced device functionality."

PRODUCT UPDATE

PolyOne has launched biopolymer compounds for use in such applications as tubing, IV pumps, respiratory equipment, and medical device electronics housings.

Plastomer Technologies offers a high-purity PTFE material that can be used in valves, diaphragms, and pumps.

MD&M MIDWEST 2009: FIRST-TIME EXHIBITORS

Specializing in orthopedics, Empirical Testing Corp. provides mechanical and wear testing services for such applications as knee and hip replacement devices.

ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS

The use of an antistatic compound with high optical clarity helped to improve the design of an asthma product.

It has long been known that organic switching molecules would be cheap to produce in large numbers. They would also perform faster than larger silicon-based switches and use much less energy. However, while progress has been made toward creating such molecules, they tend to be damaged irreparably when subjected to a particularly stressful step in the chip-building process: attaching them to electrical contacts. Now, a research team from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST; Gaithersburg, MD) and the University of Maryland (College Park, MD) has found a simple method for sandwiching organic molecules between silicon and metal. This crucial step toward miniaturizing electronic components could lead to applications beyond chip design, such as novel biosensor designs. Metal forms many of the contacts in chip circuits, but getting metal onto a chip involves heating it until it evaporates and then allowing it to condense on the silicon. "Imagine what hot steam would do to your arm," says Mariona Coll Bau, a materials scientist at NIST. "Evaporated metal is much hotter, and organic switching molecules are very fragile--they can't stand the heat." To avoid overheating the molecules, Coll Bau's team has discovered a way to cover a surface with a nonstick material before condensing gold on top of it, allowing the metal to cool to an ultrasmooth surface. They then laminate the gold surface with the plastic used in overhead transparencies. The laminated gold is as easy to remove from the nonstick layer as peeling off plastic wrap. Adding the organic molecules is then comparatively simple: They are attached to the gold, after which the whole assembly is flipped onto a silicon base, with the organic molecules sandwiched neatly inside. Although scientists have attempted to make sandwiches of this sort before, Coll Bau says that their first-ever use of an imprinting machine finally made it possible to assemble the ingredients effectively. "The machine allows us to press the three layers together so the organic molecules contact both the silicon and gold, but without smashing or otherwise degrading them," she explains. This process of "flip-chip lamination" could spur the development of new biosensors, which depend on the interaction between organic materials and electronics. "The technique may prove useful as a fabrication paradigm," Coll Bau says. "It's hard to make small things, and this might be an easier way to make them."

FOCUS ON EQUIPMENT

Vesta Inc. (Franklin, WI), a contract manufacturer for medical device components and finished device assembly, has announced several facility infrastructure investments that will enable the company to grow its business and expand its offerings. The company will expand its Franklin, WI, plant, which focuses on the manufacture and assembly of silicone-based medical device components. The expansion, scheduled for completion in October, will double the supplier's manufacturing space and will allow for the introduction of Vesta Innovations, a service that will support early-stage product development for medical device OEMs. The company intends to consolidate the operations of its Portage, WI, facility into the newly expanded Franklin facility by the end of 2009. In another expansion, the company plans to consolidate its thermoplastic extrusion facilities currently located in Placentia and Temecula, CA, into a new manufacturing facility in Corona, CA. The new facility will support the production operations of Vesta's Extrumed business, which the company acquired in March. This move will enable Extrumed to expand its secondary service offerings and will support the company's focus on best-practice manufacturing of precision thermoplastic extrusions. The Corona facility is scheduled for completion early next year. The current Extrumed facility in Livermore, CA, will continue to operate, focusing on quick-turn extrusion projects.

OUTSOURCING OUTLOOK

Aaron Lahann, senior process engineer, Airtronics Metal Products Inc., San Jose.

Nightingale-EOS Ltd. (Wrexham, Wales, UK) has received funding from Mercia Technology Seed Fund (Birmingham, UK) and Finance Wales to complete development of a laser-based technology that nondestructively measures coatings applied to medical implants. The company is also receiving funds from the Welsh Assembly Government. The technology under development, beam profile reflectometry, is designed to characterize thin coatings applied to cardiac stents, replacement joints, and related devices. Using a single measurement to determine both coating thickness and composition, the technology can be used for in-line QA inspection and laboratory testing. It also provides medical device manufacturers with a low-cost method for complying with the FDA's Process Analytical Technology initiative. The company's development center will open an applications laboratory and sales office at the Coventry University Technology Park in England, where the West Midlands Manufacturing Measurement Centre is also based. "There are clear benefits for medical device manufacturers in adopting technology such as this to streamline their production processes, reduce cost, and improve quality," remarks company chairman Alistair Taylor. "This investment enables the company to bring the technology to its customers in time for the next generation of devices."

SPOTLIGHT