Innovative method of Polish scientists to accelerate drug production process

The reduction of the production time of antidepressants by 90 percent and anticancer drugs by up to 50 percent is the result of a solution developed by a team of researchers from the Kraków University of Technology.

The technology is based on the use of ultrasound as a low-energy and effective alternative to the classic production methods currently used in the pharmaceutical industry. The developed method is universal – it can be used for antidepressants, anticancer, and analgesics.

"We achieve the best results with antidepressants, where the shortening of the preparation time is as much as 90%. In other groups, the production time reduction is from 30 percent to 50 percent," Dr. Eng. Jolanta Jaśkowska from the Kraków University of Technology, author of the solution and leader of the research team responsible for this project, explained.

"Pharmaceutical companies using our technology will be able to significantly reduce production costs, which will also translate into a lower cost of the final drug for the patient. The groups of drugs for which this solution is used, inter alia, antidepressants, and cancer are among the more expensive drugs on the Polish market, not all are reimbursed either. We hope our solution will make life easier for many seriously ill people," she added.

Scientists estimate that the prices of drugs using their method should drop by 20-30 percent – it is a rough estimate. In addition, drugs produced with this method are characterized by much higher purity, thanks to which their purification process is much easier and cheaper than in the case of classic production methods. The developed solution is already covered by a patent application.

(WBJ)