Pharmacy on demand: New technologies to enable miniaturized and mobile drug manufacturing

Traditional pharmaceutical manufacturing processes often leave military and civilian patient populations and health care providers at a disadvantage. Fortunately, advances in technology such as continuous-flow synthesis and biological engineering can allow for innovation that can improve the drug manufacturing process. Utilizing these technologies can lead to miniaturized platforms for end-to-end manufacturing of pharmaceuticals. This could result in “on demand” drug manufacturing; better preparedness for chemical, nuclear, and other threats; and hasten response times.