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The current processes for the dispensing and manufacturing of pharmaceutical preparations can be traced back over several centuries or in some cases B.C. Even today's large-scale manufacturing processes performed in modern production facilities are fundamentally unchanged from processes utilized more than a century ago. Modernization of pharmaceutical manufacturing has been moving forward incrementally over the past decade through the implementation of process analytical technology (PAT) and continuous manufacturing, but the methods used in the actual production of tablets and capsules remain the same. However, the application of three-dimensional (3D) printing technology to drug delivery, pharmaceutical product development, and manufacturing has brought forth a paradigm shift in pharmaceutical preparation and manufacturing. Through this revolutionary design and production process, 3D printing has greatly expanded the possible types of dosage form designs, allowing the customization of drug release and delivery in ways not previously possible, potentially leading to a new ecosystem including novel drug delivery, digital process development and manufacturing, virtual regulatory audit, and agile product distribution.1
Cheng et al. (Fri,) studied this question.