Warning that 3D printing pills can stop drugs working

3D printing drugs can cause unexpected and undesirable reactions that prevent their release, scientists have found. The work is one of the first studies of its kind to reveal problems when producing 3D printed pills.

Stereolithography is one of several 3D printing techniques being explored for personalised medicines to provide patients with specific dose or drug combinations. Although still in its infancy, stereolithography has advantages over other approaches as it can formulate dosages extremely accurately, works at room temperature and doesn’t need drugs to be soluble in water – useful as most new drugs aren’t.