BNS/Tie2

At the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (LSMU), the first three-dimensional (3D) medicine printer validated in Europe started operating. As the university announced on Thursday, the device makes it possible to create individualized medications, individually adapted to each patient, to increase the effectiveness of drugs by combining several medicinal substances in one tablet, and to reduce the side effects of drugs. According to LSMU, the printer allows inserting various microcapsules into tablets, coating them with different layers of excipients that regulate the release of the medicinal substance. “This is especially relevant when developing drugs for special patient groups – children and the elderly,” the report states. According to the university, this facility is the first of its kind in Europe and one of the first in the world. It is noticeable that the university has been actively preparing to implement the innovation for several years, but according to LSMU, until now, most of the three-dimensional printers on the market were not intended for the specific production of medicines, but only additionally adapted for this. “The printer was bought from the funds generated by scientific activities. We had to wait almost eight years for the new equipment,” says LSMU. According to the vice-dean of the faculty, professor Valdas Jakštas, using advanced three-dimensional technologies, researchers and developers are forming a turning point in the field of pharmaceuticals, since 3D printing is a tool not only for developing, but also for researching newly composed pharmaceutical forms – functionalized geometric systems, polytablets, individualized systems for the release of modeled multi-level active substances . “The first natural-origin, internationally patented, safe and well-tolerated drug for the treatment of arrhythmia made from the fragrant aniseed herb in Lithuania is one of the most successful projects of the faculty and the University. Using the latest technology, we will look for ways to “print” the active substances into 3D tablets to give a very fast and maximum effect”, – Professor Jurga Bernatonienė, Head of the Department of Drug Technology and Social Pharmacy of the Faculty of Pharmacy of LSMU, is quoted in the report.