Automated Dispensing with 3D Technology – Highly Precise, Individualised Medicines

We work continuously to create sustainable value and to further develop our public service mission: to provide extemporaneous medicines for patients with special needs. An important step in this work is the introduction of automated dispensing of medicines using 3D technology, a technology we call ExtempoPrint.

ExtempoPrint creates the conditions for manufacturing medicines with precise dosing and a tailored dosage form based on each patient’s individual needs. The technology is particularly well suited to small production volumes and a high degree of individualisation, which is central to extemporaneous compounding.

Benefits of ExtempoPrint

As Sweden’s leading manufacturer of extemporaneous medicines, we have invested in 3D printing technology that offers several advantages compared with conventional manufacturing methods, from both a patient safety and a sustainability perspective.

Automated dispensing using ExtempoPrint contributes, among other things, to:

• improved quality through an integrated and controlled manufacturing process
• high dose accuracy
• increased patient benefit through flexible dosing and the possibility of different dosage forms
• an improved working environment for manufacturing personnel through reduced manual handling

The technology enables the production of chewable tablets, orally disintegrating tablets, or tablets that can be dissolved in water and administered via a feeding tube. This facilitates administration for both patients and healthcare professionals or caregivers, reduces the need to crush tablets, and contributes to safer medication handling.

Increased Patient Safety Through Precise Dosing

One of the main advantages of ExtempoPrint is its high dosing precision. Accurate dosing can reduce the risk of adverse effects or insufficient therapeutic effect.

This is particularly important for children and severely ill patients, for whom commercially available medicines in appropriate doses are often lacking. With ExtempoPrint, both dose and dosage form can be individualised in ways that have previously been difficult to achieve using traditional methods.

In principle, most active pharmaceutical ingredients can be used in 3D printing, where the drug substance is mixed with Curablend, which forms the base for the chewable tablets. When producing the same dose, up to approximately 1,000 tablets can be manufactured per hour.

A Sustainable Approach for the Future

ExtempoPrint is part of our long-term work towards sustainable development. By manufacturing medicines with precise dosing, the risk of waste is reduced, while the working environment is improved through reduced physical strain and limited exposure to potentially toxic substances.

The introduction of automated dispensing therefore contributes to sustainable value creation encompassing patient benefit, working conditions, economic efficiency and environmental responsibility.

Prescribing and Availability

Medicines manufactured using ExtempoPrint are extemporaneous medicines and are prescribed by physicians based on the patient’s needs. Availability is governed by medical assessment and prescribing decisions, not by individual pharmacies or hospitals.

The use of ExtempoPrint does not affect the price paid by the patient. The medicines are covered by the applicable reimbursement systems, including the high-cost protection scheme.

ExtempoPrint is a registered trademark.