"We are the first clinic in Germany to develop 3D-printed medication and are now administering them to paediatric oncology patients as part of a study. We want to enable precise doses," said Dr Adrin Dadkhah, joint Head of Research and Teaching at UKE's Clinical Pharmacy. Paediatrics medication frequently have to be administered as bitter drops or juices and tablets and are often too big for children to swallow. Many tablets also have to be dosed according to weight, which complicates matters. Children undergoing two cycles of particularly nausea-inducing chemotherapy are now given both conventional tablets and 3D-printed tablets as part of the study underway until 2026. Acceptance and complexity, i.e. overall safety, are being tested, said Dr Claudia Langebrake, Head of Research.
3D-printed medication is now available from the University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf's (UKE) pharmacy, a press release said Thursday (February 13, 2025). Tablets containing the active ingredient dexamethasone are used to prevent nausea during chemotherapy. A study is now being conducted with the UKE's paediatric oncology department to determine whether patients prefer the sweet, individually dosed 3D chewable tablets to the traditional bitter medicine.
First hospital to develop 3D-printed medication
More applications envisaged
The new technology has been in development for three years. An earlier feasibility study into the production of individually dosed medicines using 3D printing has already proved successful. Pharmacists and doctors are now eyeing other applications for 3D-printed medicine, such as combining several active ingredients in a single tablet, customising medicines and continuously adjusting the dosage over the course of treatment.
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