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Huge sums of money are invested annually by the pharmaceutical industry into
improved treatments for diseases including cancer, arthritis and AIDS. In the
United Kingdom alone, almost one fifth of all industrial research and development
is performed by the pharmaceutical industry, which in turn puts back more than
one fifth of its gross output into research and development. By its very nature,
pharmaceutical research is complex, lengthy and costly. Only one or two
compounds in 10,000 will eventually reach the market, and even then there is no
guarantee of commercial success.
In this kind of environment, demand for resources financial, material and
intellectual is extremely high and research and development methods which can
improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness are to be welcomed.
The application of nuclear medicine technology to the study of drug formulation
and the development of new drug delivery systems is one such method. Its strength
is that it can provide graphic evidence of the behaviour of drug formulations in
the actual patients for whom that drug has been developed. Not only that but the
data obtained are quantifiable, and allow direct comparisons to be made between
different formulations in the same subjects. The outcomes of these studies can
be demonstrated in optimization of dosing regimes, improved precision in targeting
and control of drug delivery, all of which contribute to improvements in compliance
and cost-effectiveness. |