ABSTRACT
This chapter examines all the nanoformulations that are currently undergoing clinical investigation and their outlook for ultimate clinical translation. While approximately 50 nanotherapeutics have already entered clinical practice, a greater number of drugs are undergoing clinical investigation for a variety of indications. To date, the majority of nanomedicines in clinical development are nanoformulations of previously approved drugs which are more effective and/or more tolerable than with traditional systemic delivery. The drugs are formulated using a diverse array of drug-delivery platforms, including protein/polymer-drug conjugates, polymeric micelles, liposomal preparations, dendrimers, and inorganic metal nanoparticles. With the rapid progress in this area, new nanotherapeutics are entering clinical investigation each year. Since the status of clinical translation is important to nanomedicine science and can guide future research directions, the chapter provides an up to date summary on all the investigational nanotherapeutics. Nanomedicine, the application of nanotechnology to health and medicine, is a relatively new branch of science.
