Finally, the Aprecia Pharmaceuticals company has a solution for the pill that’s too hard to swallow. They’ve created a system called “ZipDose,” which can compile a precise dose of medication — in this case, Spritam, which is used to treat seizures — from a 3D printer. The tablets are porous and dissolve rapidly in liquid, less than 10 seconds, according to the company. See for yourself in their demo video:
The even better news is that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the drug and its 3D-printing system. This is the first time the FDA has approved something 3D-printed that goes inside your body. Which is really important because, right now, conventional wisdom advises us not to actually use our custom-printed Bieber dildos.
Bioprinters are currently being used in dentistry and prosthetics, and hopefully they can someday replace ALL your defective body parts.
Theoretically, this opens up private drug customization for patients, which I don’t see there being any problem with in the future ever. Up to 1,000 mg of Spritam can be printed out in pill form on-demand. So, if you need fast delivery of high-dose medications, you don’t have to rely on syrups or effervescent tablets.
Spritam will be available via prescription early next year.
(Via Quartz)