ABSTRACT
The extensive growth in the development of therapeutic biotechnology products for the treatment of a wide range of conditions has challenged the pharmaceutical industry to develop patient-friendly drug delivery systems for these compounds [1]. Noninvasive delivery systems such as pulmonary, oral, and buccal are in development but today, marketed protein and macromolecule compounds are predominantly delivered by intravenous, intramuscular, or subcutaneous (SC) administration. Historically, the SC route is favored by patients and caregivers, since it permits self-administration [2]. This route also has the advantage of high bioavailability, which is critical for expensive biotechnology-derived substances. Standard syringes, prefilled syringes, pen injectors, or jet injectors are successfully used today by large patient populations for SC administration of compounds such as low-molecular-weight heparin, α-interferon, β-interferon, insulin, and growth hormone on an outpatient basis. The incidence of infection and complications by this route is low.
