The DCAT Summit at Lugano Recap: Innovating Formulation Development & Drug Delivery for Improving Patient Outcomes
At the DCAT Summit in Lugano, “Expedition Pharma: Innovation from a Patient-First Perspective,” held June 4–5, 2025, in Lugano, Switzerland, speakers emphasized the importance of innovation in formulation development and drug delivery for improving patient compliance and outcomes.
Applying nanotechnology for improving bioavailability
Many molecules fail in development because of poor solubility. Christian Jones, Chief Commercial Officer of Nanoform, described a nanoparticle engineering approach, based on supercritical carbon dioxide, designed to tackle that problem.
The process converts poorly soluble small-molecule active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) into amorphous or crystalline nanoparticles to improve bioavailability and enable higher drug loading. The result is bioavailability performance similar to that of drugs formulated using amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs), a commonly used approach for improving a drug’s solubility and bioavailability. Nanoparticles also enable higher drug loads, up to 70–80%, compared to 20% with standard ASDs. Patients benefit from smaller tablets, fewer doses, and reduced pill burden. An additional benefit in using supercritical carbon dioxide in forming the nanoparticles is not having to use the large volumes of organic solvents used in spray drying to produce an ASD.
Jones also emphasized another innovative nanoparticle technology, which enables alternative parenteral administration routes for large molecules, for more patient-friendly and convenient approaches. He cited the potential of using nanoparticles to overcome the barriers to pulmonary drug delivery of large-molecule actives. He also explained the potential to deliver high-concentration biologics via subcutaneous injections rather than intravenous (IV) infusions to enable higher drug loading, as a means to enable patients to switch from lengthy IV infusions to faster and more convenient at-home administration.
Beyond the needle: Dry-powder nasal delivery for CNS drugs
The theme of reducing patient burden carried through to a talk by Kay Olmstead, CEO of Nano PharmaSolutions. Her company’s platform focuses on dry-powder nasal sprays for rapid on-demand therapies used to treat certain central nervous system (CNS) conditions, improving solubility for nasal administration through a novel approach to drug nanosizing.
Olmstead noted the limitations faced by patients in administering certain injectable and oral drugs to treat CNS diseases and the value that improved drug-delivery methods can have to enable patients to overcome these barriers. People with Parkinson’s disease, for example, may suffer from “off” episodes, referring to periods when motor and non-motor symptoms worsen, which make it difficult for a patient to self-inject a drug that is currently approved for this indication. Patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease, often develop difficulty swallowing as their disease progresses, and thus find it hard to take oral drugs such as riluzole. Another example is the absence of an approved drug for traumatic brain injury. In each case, drug-delivery barriers may prevent patients from accessing effective treatment.
Powder nasal sprays provide an alternative, she said. They deliver medication quickly—within minutes—directly through the nasal cavity, thereby bypassing first-pass metabolism. For Parkinson’s patients, that means rapid recovery from debilitating episodes without injections or inhalers. For ALS patients, it offers a way to administer life-extending medicines even as swallowing becomes difficult or not possible. And for traumatic brain injury, the vision is a nasal-spray product that first responders could carry to treat patients within the critical early hours post injury.
In addition, by removing solvents from the manufacturing process and applying existing industrial vacuum technologies to the pharmaceutical industry, Olmstead and her team also aim to shorten development timelines and offer a sustainable manufacturing technology that fits both clinical and commercial production.
Reimagining CBD therapies: Improving bioavailability and absorption
Closing the session, dsm-firmenich discussed a formulation designed to address the difficulties of highly lipophilic and poorly soluble crystalline molecules, such as cannabidiol (CBD), which result in low and variable bioavailability, high dependence on food intake due to the fat-soluble nature of the CBD active, and issues related to taste, administration, and dosage requirements.
To meet these challenges, dsm-firmenich developed a nano-emulsified, spray-dried oral solid dosage form of CBD and evaluated it against a currently approved liquid oil-based formulation. In a recent Phase I clinical study by dsm-firmenich, the solid dosage form matched or exceeded the bioavailability of the oil-based formulation with far less variability in bioavailability and no dependence on the level of food intake. It also allowed for higher drug loading—40% compared to 10%—thereby reducing volume and simplifying dosing. In addition to addressing pharmacokinetics, the formulation also incorporated taste-masking technologies for improved patient compliance.
Conclusion
These talks made it clear that innovation in formulation development and drug-delivery is an important part of realizing patient-centric design that contributes to improved patient outcomes and compliance.
Note: This is part of a series of articles providing key highlights and insights from the DCAT Summit at Lugano: Expedition Pharma: Innovation from a Patient-First Perspective, which was held June 4–5, 2025, in Lugano, Switzerland.
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