Erythrocytes as carriers for drugs: the transition from the laboratory to the clinic is approaching

Erythrocytes have been suggested to be smart carriers for drugs, biologics and other therapeutic agents, and a paper in the present issue of the journal confirms the wide interest and the expectations the technology has generated. In this Editorial, I briefly summarize the advances in the field and try to figure out the process that will take this technology to the clinic. The conclusion is that, after several years of basic research, the time is fast approaching since two companies in Europe are actively engaged in industrializing the process and searching approval for treatments with structured clinical trials.