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FDA Approves First 3D-Printed Drug Tablet
An anonymous reader writes: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has for the first time approved a 3D-printed pill for human consumption. The printing technique allows higher and more precise dosages to be layered into a smaller tablet size. This is an early step toward a new method of drug distribution. Right now, pills are made in a factory and shipped to hospitals. With 3D printers, hospitals could simply store a bulk supply of the drug in a pure form, and then print out tablets — containing whatever dosage they desire — as they need them. If patients needs to increase or decrease their dosage, the hospital can do so without changing the appearance of the pills, which could help those with memory impairments.
Vicodin used to be hydrocodone/APAP 5/325 until the FDA said that the APAP portion should be lowered to 300 mg. So Vicodin gets reformulated to 5/300 and the price goes up. If I follow FDA guidelines and write a prescription for hydrocodone/APAP 5/300 my patient has a substantial out of pocket cost because the pharmacy has to give them name brand Vicodin. If I write the prescription for 5/325, they can use generic which insurance covers fully, or if they are uninsured costs $5-10.
I suspect that the repackaging has more to do with maintaining the high price than the performance of the medication when packaged by a 3D printer.