Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Jun;32(6):102098.
doi: 10.1016/j.jsps.2024.102098. Epub 2024 May 10.

Trend of pharmaceuticals 3D printing in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region: An overview, regulatory perspective and future outlook

Riyad F Alzhrani  1 , Mohammed Y Alyahya  1 , Mohammed S Algahtani  2 , Rawan A Fitaihi  1 , Essam A Tawfik  3
Affiliations

Trend of pharmaceuticals 3D printing in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region: An overview, regulatory perspective and future outlook

Riyad F Alzhrani et al. Saudi Pharm J. 2024 Jun.

Abstract

The traditional method of producing medicine using the "one-size fits all" model is becoming a major issue for pharmaceutical manufacturers due to its inability to produce customizable medicines for individuals' needs. Three-dimensional (3D) printing is a new disruptive technology that offers many benefits to the pharmaceutical industry by revolutionizing the way pharmaceuticals are developed and manufactured. 3D printing technology enables the on-demand production of personalized medicine with tailored dosage, shape and release characteristics. Despite the lack of clear regulatory guidance, there is substantial interest in adopting 3D printing technology in the large-scale manufacturing of medicine. This review aims to evaluate the research efforts of 3D printing technology in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, with a particular emphasis on pharmaceutical research and development. Our analysis indicates an upsurge in the overall research activity of 3D printing technology but there is limited progress in pharmaceuticals research and development. While the MENA region still lags, there is evidence of the regional interest in expanding the 3D printing technology applications in different sectors including pharmaceuticals. 3D printing holds great promise for pharmaceutical development within the MENA region and its advancement will require a strong collaboration between academic researchers and industry partners in parallel with drafting detailed guidelines from regulatory authorities.

Keywords: 3D printing technology; MENA region; On-demand production; Personalized medicine; Pharmaceutical manufacturing; Pharmaceutical research and development; SPIRTAM®.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The trend of 3D printing publications in the MENA countries (2012–2022). Data were obtained from PubMed using the search terms “3D printing AND MENA country”.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Illustration of 3D printing techniques. Created by Biorender.com.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Algahtani M.S., et al. 3D printing of dapagliflozin containing self-nanoemulsifying tablets: Formulation design and in vitro characterization. Pharmaceutics. 2021;13(7):993. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Algahtani M.S., Mohammed A.A., Ahmad J. Extrusion-based 3D printing for pharmaceuticals: contemporary research and applications. Curr. Pharm. Des. 2018;24(42):4991–5008. - PubMed
    1. Alhijjaj M., Belton P., Qi S. An investigation into the use of polymer blends to improve the printability of and regulate drug release from pharmaceutical solid dispersions prepared via fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing. Eur J Pharm Biopharm. 2016;108:111–125. - PubMed
    1. Alruwaili N.K., et al. 3D printing technology in design of pharmaceutical products. Curr. Pharm. Des. 2018;24(42):5009–5018. - PubMed
    1. Andreadis I.I., et al. The advent of a new era in digital healthcare: a role for 3D printing technologies in drug manufacturing? Pharmaceutics. 2022;14(3):609. - PMC - PubMed