Scientists at University of Limerick (UL), Ireland are teaming up with Enterprise Ireland (EI) to commercialize continuous nanomanufacturing technology which promises to transform the pharmaceutical market.

The teams are developing continuous scalable methods of drug manufacture at the nano-level. Their research has attracted both national and international attention. The teams believe that success in this area would mark a significant advance in the treatment and prevention of global ill-health.

The project aims to tackle the biggest challenge facing the pharmaceutical industry today. While pharmaceutical companies are continually developing new drugs, seven out of ten of those drugs never reach the patient. This is not because they are ineffective at treating disease but because they are not soluble enough to be absorbed in the body.

The objective will be to establish a technology-based start-up or spin-out close to the end of the project. This new technology will meet the need of the next generation of (nano) medicines by generating faster-working drugs and leading to significant patient benefit.