Miniature needles that can deliver drugs, diagnose disease and monitor patient health in the home are quietly moving toward the mainstream as developers and designers solve issues related to large-scale production and reliability, a new study finds. The convergence of incremental improvements and post-market experience will lead to accelerated uptake of medical microneedle technology, pushing the global market to $ 1.24 billion (combination product revenue basis) by the end of the decade.
Initially developed as a form of microporation, or active transdermal delivery, to overcome the limitations of passive transdermal patches, microneedles have attracted a large and diverse ecosystem - or supply chain - of developers and suppliers that recognise the substantial market opportunity for a device that can delivery therapeutic APIs or sample analytes at low cost. This ecosystem is driving microneedle product development.
A key element in microneedle technology evolution is the significant contribution of academic and non-profit organisations, pushing the limits of materials science and applied engineering to create new formulation and fabrication methods. The publication and sharing of this knowledge base is a key element in the advancement of microneedle commercialization prospects. Development successes encompass a broad spectrum of achievements that include fabrication, materials science, sampling methods, energy controlled designs, coating technologies, and encapsulation methods.