Seoane-Viano, Iria;
Ong, Jun Jie;
Basit, Abdul W;
Goyanes, Alvaro;
(2022)
To infinity and beyond: Strategies for fabricating medicines in outer space.
International Journal of Pharmaceutics: X
, 4
, Article 100121. 10.1016/j.ijpx.2022.100121.
(In press).
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Abstract
Recent advancements in next generation spacecrafts have reignited public excitement over life beyond Earth. However, to safeguard the health and safety of humans in the hostile environment of space, innovation in pharmaceutical manufacturing and drug delivery deserves urgent attention. In this review/commentary, the current state of medicines provision in space is explored, accompanied by a forward look on the future of pharmaceutical manufacturing in outer space. The hazards associated with spaceflight, and their corresponding medical problems, are first briefly discussed. Subsequently, the infeasibility of present-day medicines provision systems for supporting deep space exploration is examined. The existing knowledge gaps on the altered clinical effects of medicines in space are evaluated, and suggestions are provided on how clinical trials in space might be conducted. An envisioned model of on-site production and delivery of medicines in space is proposed, referencing emerging technologies (e.g. Chemputing, synthetic biology, and 3D printing) being developed on Earth that may be adapted for extra-terrestrial use. This review concludes with a critical analysis on the regulatory considerations necessary to facilitate the adoption of these technologies and proposes a framework by which these may be enforced. In doing so, this commentary aims to instigate discussions on the pharmaceutical needs of deep space exploration, and strategies on how these may be met.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | To infinity and beyond: Strategies for fabricating medicines in outer space |
| Location: | Netherlands |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.ijpx.2022.100121 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpx.2022.100121 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2022 Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license Attribution 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) |
| Keywords: | Science & Technology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Pharmacology & Pharmacy, Future fabrication of pharmaceuticals, Additive manufacturing of drug products, Advanced drug delivery systems and technologies, Pharmacy in space, Extra-terrestrial design of formulations, Stability of medicines, Clinical pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, LONG-DURATION SPACEFLIGHT, RADIATION-DAMAGE, IONIZING-RADIATION, RAMAN-SPECTROSCOPY, PRINTED PHARMACEUTICALS, OXIDATIVE STRESS, SOCIAL-ISOLATION, FREE-RADICALS, 3D, STABILITY |
| UCL classification: | UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > UCL School of Pharmacy UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10152371 |
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