The transdermal revolution

Historically, developments in transdermal drug delivery have been incremental, focusing on overcoming problems associated with the barrier properties of the skin, reducing skin irritation rates and improving the aesthetics associated with passive patch systems. More-recent advances have concentrated on the development of non-passive systems to aid delivery of larger drug molecules, such as proteins and nuclecitides, as the trend for discovering and designing biopharmaceuticals continues. Fundamentally, improvements in transdermal delivery will remain incremental until there is wider acceptance of this route of administration within the pharmaceutical industry. Only then will the transdermal revolution live up to its true potential.