Long Acting Biologics: A Steep Climb

• Long-acting formulations for biologics address critical patient needs, and industry trends suggest a growing interest.
• We will discuss what challenges are to be overcome to capitalize on long-acting formulation opportunities.
• Predictive and investigative tools have to be developed to achieve success and innovation.

Burden of chronic diseases is soaring. A general trend is seen towards the long-term drug treatment for chronic diseases. Therefore, any drug delivery technology that can at a minimum reduce the total number of injections is welcome news for the patients. In addition to improving patient comfort, less frequent injections smoothes out the plasma concentration-time profile by eliminating the hills and valleys. However, working towards long acting formulations for biologics have diverse impediments. In this presentation, we will discuss the promises and the challenges of long acting formulations for large molecules, especially antibodies.

Puneet Tyagi, Associate Director, Dosage Form Design & Development, Biopharmaceuticals Development, R&D , AstraZeneca