As patients live longer and are diagnosed with chronic and often debilitating ailments, caregivers and managed care organizations are bracing for a dramatic increase in self-administration of drug therapies in non-traditional settings for a number of conditions. This trend is creating an increased interest in routes of administration that are patient-friendly and cost-effective. Because non-compliance with prescription protocols is a major healthcare concern, particularly in older patients taking several prescribed drugs, transdermal patches continue to attract a significant amount of attention from both drug developers and drug packaging designers.

Created as an alternate route of drug administration to improve patient compliance and reduce drug side effects, prescription skin patches are rapidly becoming an important healthcare product category. Growth in demand for prescription drug patches is being driven by several factors - factors with strong demographic and population trend underpinnings. Technology has also played a major role in prescription patch growth. Advances in synthetic materials and patch design have led to patches that are more esthetically acceptable and that are capable of delivering sustained dosing of active compounds for several days in a smaller package. New therapeutic areas in development include pulmonary medicine, neurology, metabolic diseases, and sexual health.

As pharmaceutical companies struggle to position their products in the direct-to-consumer marketing era, the trend toward combining functionality and packaging in drug delivery systems is growing. Innovative drug delivery systems allow pharmaceutical companies to differentiate drug products from competitors. This is essential at a time when many patents are running out and competition among the manufacturers of generic medicines is increasing.

The Greystone survey of transdermal skin patch products, therapies and commercialization factors provides a comprehensive analysis of the risks and opportunities facing this segment of the pharmaceutical industry.

About Greystone

Greystone Associates is a medical and healthcare technology consulting firm providing services in strategic planning, venture development, product commercialization, and technology and market assessment.

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