There are medications that a child needs in order to preserve life, improve an aspect of health, or prevent a damaging condition from occurring. With some pharmaceutical products, like for instance GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, the case is not so clear-cut, and the use of such products on children can initiate a vigorous discussion among adults.
At any rate, no one wants to see minors sticking hypodermic needles into themselves. Even adults who need to treat their type 2 diabetes would prefer not to carry out the self-injection process day after day, but they don’t have a choice.
A healthcare marketing research and business consulting firm called DelveInsight is one of several similar companies that issue annual reports on the state of the pharmaceutical arts. The typical report covers the “present clinical development scenario and growth prospects” in the specialized market of weight loss and weight management. It describes “pipeline products from the pre-clinical developmental phase to the marketed phase.” According to DelveInsight,
In the report, a detailed description of the drug is proffered including mechanism of action of the drug, clinical studies, NDA approvals (if any), and product development activities comprising the technology, Weight Loss/Weight Management (Obesity) collaborations, licensing, mergers and acquisition, funding, designations, and other product-related details.
Such a report includes all the companies in the field, along with descriptions of their various products in early-, mid-, and late-stage development. It includes information on the drug’s target receptor within the human organism, along with the route of administration, mechanism of action, molecular type, and whether it is suitable for monotherapy or combination therapy. The list of “key questions” covered by the report comprises 14 areas of inquiry. This year’s report covers more than 80 companies and 100 pipeline drugs. So there is a lot going on.
Weird and unanticipated
The human body has a vested interest in keeping unknown and potentially dangerous chemicals out of itself. Where medicine is concerned, in many cases the body can adapt, even though that might take time and entail discomfort. Science persists in trying to find ways to make ingestion work because needles are expensive, a lot of trouble to use properly and dispose of, and just generally icky.
Now let’s segue to tomorrow, and a fascinating article by Anil Oza about an amazing innovation the future might bring to the realm of drugs that require needles because the destructive nature of stomach acid precludes oral delivery. Very recently, STATNews.com reported on a device that is under development after drawing its inspiration from sea creatures. Hopefully, this item will introduce into the body drugs that formerly had to be injected either quickly by syringe or slowly via intravenous drip.
Described as blueberry-sized, it is meant to be swallowed. Also,
It then uses jets, modeled after the organs cephalopods use to propel themselves through the water and to release ink, to eject drugs into the tissue lining the digestive tract. The researchers report […] a series of experiments that serve as a proof of concept, showing that the device was more efficient at delivering drugs than other methods of delivering drugs orally.
The innovation has been tested on a pig, with GLP-1 drugs, and the outlook is promising although of course a long and complicated program of testing and more testing lies ahead. But the implications are exciting, especially if the results will make useful drugs available to children without the necessity for needles.
Your responses and feedback are welcome!
Source: “Obesity Pipeline Insight, 2024,” DelveInsight.com, undated
Source: “A new device for delivering drugs without needles draws inspiration from the elegant squid,” STATNews.com, 11/20/24
Image by Dawn Pedersen/Attribution 2.0 Generic
FAQs and Media Requests: 
