Oral drug delivery strategies for development of poorly water soluble drugs in paediatric patient population.

Selecting the appropriate formulation and solubility-enabling technology for poorly water soluble drugs is an essential element in the development of formulations for paediatric patients. Different methodologies and structured strategies are available to select a suitable approach and guide formulation scientists for development of adult formulations. However, there is paucity of available literature for selection of technology and overcoming the challenges in paediatric formulation development. The need for flexible dosing, and the limited knowledge of the safety of many formulation excipients in paediatric subjects, impose significant constraints and in some instances require adaptation of the approaches taken to formulating these drugs for the adult population. Selection of the best drug delivery system for paediatrics requires an efficient, systematic approach that considers a drug's physical and chemical properties and the targeted patient population's requirements. This review is a step towards development of a strategy for the design of solubility enhancing paediatric formulations of highly insoluble drugs. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of different approaches and strategies to consider in order to assist development of paediatric formulation for poorly water-soluble drugs with the provision of examples of some marketed products. In addition, it provides recommendations to overcome the range of challenges posed by these strategies and adaptations of the adult approach/product presentation required to enable paediatric drug development and administration.

Devices for oral and respiratory paediatric medicines: What do healthcare professionals think?

Medical devices are crucial for the proper administration of paediatric medicines to children, but handling and dosing errors commonly appear in daily practice. As both the understanding and the usage of medical devices for oral and respiratory drug administration are heterogeneous among patients and caregivers, the European Paediatric Formulation Initiative (EuPFI) consortium performed a European survey among healthcare professional stakeholders in France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain and UK. The results show country- and age-dependent usage of devices for oral administration of liquid formulations, with a clear preference for oral droppers and syringes in the neonatal phase and in early infancy. In older children, spoons and cups are more frequently used although it is recognized that they may fail in delivering correct doses. The percentage of medicinal products definitely requiring an oral administration device was estimated as 68.8% by the participants. The survey elaborated a similar usage pattern for medical devices for respiratory drug delivery: in young children drug solutions are nebulized, using face-masks and subsequently valved holding chambers or spacers, with increasing age metered-dose inhalers and later dry powder inhalers are preferably used. 56% of the responding healthcare professionals believed that providing an administration device helps to ensure that the patient receives the correct dose of medicine, and 41% agreed that patients must be given an administration device with each supply of medicine. Interestingly, 6.7% thought that patients tend not to use the device provided and remarkably 25.4% stated that patients already have a device. Although there is the highest count of treated children with device supply in Germany and Hungary, there are no observed significant differences in the six investigated European countries (p=0.057). Patient difficulties in correct oral and respiratory device use were identified by respondents and potential solutions discussed.