First 3D-printed pill approved by US authorities

In a world in the first place, the US Food and Drug Administration has given the thumbs up for a 3D-printed pill to be delivered. The FDA has already affirmed medicinal gadgets - including prosthetics - that have been 3D printed. The new medication, named Spritam, was created by Aprecia Pharmaceuticals to control seizures brought on by epilepsy. The organization said that it wanted to create different meds utilizing its 3D stage. Printing the medications permits layers of prescription to be bundled all the more firmly in exact doses. A different innovation created by the firm, known as ZipDose, makes high-measurements solutions less demanding to swallow. 

Printing the medication implied it could bundle up to 1,000 

milligrams into individual tablets. The 3D-printed pill breaks up in the same way as other oral drugs. Being able to 3D print a tablet offers the potential to create bespoke drugs based on the specific needs of patients, rather than having a one product fits all approach, according to experts. "For the last 50 years we have manufactured tablets in factories and shipped them to hospitals and for the first time this process means we can produce tablets much closer to the patient," said Dr Mohamed Albed Alhnan, a lecturer in pharmaceutics at the University of Central Lancashire.

It would mean that medical institutions could adjust the dose for individual patients with just a simple tweak to the software before printing. Previously, such personalised medicine would have been extremely expensive to produce, said Dr Alhnan. 3D printing works by creating an object layer by layer. In the case of medicines, printers are adapted to produce pharmaceutical compounds rather than polymers which are more usually used.

Such methods are already proving very useful in healthcare with doctors using the system to create customised implants for patients with injuries or other conditions. And dentists, for example, use 3D printers to create replica jaws and teeth as well as other dental implants. Spritam will launch in the first quarter of 2016, according to Aprecia.