A Pediatrics Utilization Study in The Netherlands to Identify Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients Suitable for Inkjet Printing on Orodispersible Films

• Main Authors: J. Carolina Visser, Lisa Wibier, Olga Kiefer, Mine Orlu, Jörg Breitkreutz, Herman J. Woerdenbag, Katja Taxis
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-02-01
• Series: Pharmaceutics
• Subjects: drug utilization research; pediatrics; orodispersible films; pharmaceutical inkjet printing; pharmacy
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4923/12/2/164

Background: The use of medication in pediatrics, children aged 0−5 years, was explored so as to identify active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) suitable for inkjet printing on a plain orodispersible film (ODF) formulation in a pharmacy. Methods: The database IADB.nl, containing pharmacy dispensing data from community pharmacies in the Netherlands, was used to explore medication use in the age group of 0−5 years old, based on the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical classification code (ATC code). Subsequently, a stepwise approach with four exclusion steps was used to identify the drug candidates for ODF formulation development. Results: there were 612 Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) that were dispensed to the target group, mostly antibiotics. Of the APIs, 221 were not registered for pediatrics, but were used off-label. After the exclusion steps, 34 APIs were examined regarding their suitability for inkjet printing. Almost all of the APIs were sparingly water soluble to practically insoluble. Conclusion: Pharmaceutical inkjet printing is a suitable new technique for ODF manufacturing for pediatric application, however the maximal printed dose as found in the literature remained low. From the selected candidates, only montelukast shows a sufficiently high water-solubility to prepare a water-based solution. To achieve higher drug loads per ODF is ambitious, but is theoretically possible by printing multiple layers, using highly water-soluble APIs or highly loaded suspensions.