World’s first ibuprofen patch relieves pain directly
Researchers developed and patented the world’s first ibuprofen patch to deliver pain relief directly on the skin.
University of Warwick researchers worked with bioadhesives company Medheran to invent a transparent adhesive patch that can consistently deliver a prolonged high dose of the painkiller ibuprofen directly through the skin. The patch has high ibuprofen levels (30% weight/volume) and delivers a consistent dose on the patients’ skin for up to 12 hours.
This opens the way for the development of a range of novel long-acting over-the-counter pain relief products which can be used to treat common painful conditions like chronic back pain, neuralgia and arthritis without the need to take potentially damaging doses of the drug orally. Although there are a number of popular ibuprofen gels available these make it difficult to control dosage and are inconvenient to apply.
This novel patch incorporates polymer technology developed by the global adhesive company Bostik and exclusively licensed for transdermal use to Medherant. The team said their first over-the-counter ibuprofen patches will be available in two years. They also said that the design is not limited to ibuprofen and that they’re looking into other uses for the patch.
University of Warwick research chemist Professor David Haddleton said:
“Many commercial patches surprisingly don’t contain any pain relief agents at all, they simply soothe the body by a warming effect. Our technology now means that we can for the first time produce patches that contain effective doses of active ingredients such as ibuprofen for which no patches currently exist. Also, we can improve the drug loading and stickiness of patches containing other active ingredients to improve patient comfort and outcome.”
Category: Features, Technology & Devices
