Delivering drugs to the central nervous system presents unique challenges. But, drug developers and researchers have discovered that delivering CNS therapeutic drugs via inhalation mitigates several of these issues. The accessibility and vascular structure of the nose make it an attractive route for delivering both small molecule drugs and biologics across the blood-brain barrier to the CNS. Pulmonary delivery to the deep lung can have favorable pharmacokinetics. And inhaled delivery offers the potential for faster onset of action and less frequent dosing relative to oral drugs. These potential advantages have spurred activity in inhaled CNS therapeutics for a range of disorders. As aging population demographics and managed care initiatives drive growth in home health care and self-administration of drug therapies, inhaled medicine is increasingly being viewed as patient-friendly and cost-effective. Our analysis indicated that inhaled CNS administration is well positioned to take advantage of these trends and evolve into a significant factor in the future of pharmaceutical development and commercialization of CNS therapeutic drugs.

Publication Date: February 2008