Recent Advances in the Transdermal Delivery of Biopharmaceutics
Frank Tagliaferri
Vice President R&D, 4P Therapeutics
While transdermal patches were introduced decades ago in response to increasing demand for a more comfortable delivery system than needle injections, the initial transdermal technologies have inherent limitations which have restricted their widespread adaptation. The typical passive transdermal patch allows the penetration of lipid-soluble drugs with weights of less than approximately 500 daltons. The amount of delivered drug from these patches may also be limited due to low drug flux through intact skin and the need to maintain a practical patch size. The tremendous increase in the number of new chemical entities, both biologic and otherwise, that are not applicable to passive transport have helped lead to the development of alternate transdermal technologies that can deliver both larger water-soluble molecules and increased drug amounts through the skin. A selection of these newer technologies will be discussed with an emphasis on their applicability to deliver biologics such as peptides and proteins from a convenient transdermal form.
Frank Tagliaferri, Ph.D., co-founded 4P Therapeutics in 2011 and serves as Vice President of R&D. Dr. Tagliaferri has been instrumental in the establishment and execution of major partnerships with pharmaceutical companies for the development of transdermal delivery. He has led multidisciplinary scientists he has moved a number of drug-device combination products through preclinical feasibility, INDs, and clinical evaluation in the areas of diabetes, pain, neurology, and hematology.
Prior to 4P, Dr Tagliaferi has served as various leadership roles in various organizations including NaPro Biotherapeutics and Genemedicine (later Valentis).