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In this imperfect world, given that humans often need to treat or prevent disease by delivering medicine to the target cells earlier and for longer than previously possible, certain optimum requirements should be met. Treatment, or prevention, by a therapeutic molecule should be delivered at the right time, at the right dose, to the right target cell, by the safest, most convenient, inexpensive and effective method of delivery.

Most new drugs go through a phase, usually in early development, when they are administered by intravenous delivery, but many of these products end up being delivered by a different modality later, and locally acting drugs for local disease may benefit from topical administration to the epithelium, or adjacent tissue, of interest. With many of the newer medicines being proteins or peptides, oral delivery is not an option due to their degradation in the gut, so non-oral formulations are becoming even more important.

This editorial highlights some of the challenges facing developers when considering how to deliver their products. It focuses on a new route of administration that recently received approval that may represent an opportunity for non-invasive delivery of acutely needed medications.