A lot of research has centered on the development of novel delivery systems, which are expected to offer a host of advantages such as ease of administration, increased patient compliance, decreased side effects and cost reduction. New drug delivery systems obviously have immense commercial potential too since these new delivery technologies offer tremendous value addition apart from providing convenience to patients.

Macromolecular drugs, which are larger compared to conventional therapies, demand superior delivery platforms for greater efficacy. Emerging technologies, such as medicated powders pumped into the skin at supersonic speeds, implanted microchips that deliver precise dosages and nanomolecular transportation systems, are vying for commercial acceptance in a competitive market.

While drug delivery plays an important role in enriching drug performance, researchers are concentrating on using delivery as a means to reduce dosage frequency, preferably through non-invasive methods.

The frequency and number of injections required per week or day could be reduced providing an opportunity for longer intervals between injections. This in turn can improve compliance from the patients, hence enhancing treatment outcomes too.

Among many routes being researched all over the world, the oral route is expected to be the most dominant technique, followed by the pulmonary route, which is being explored for the delivery of insulin.

Oral delivery of peptide and proteins has proven an elusive target for the pharmaceutical industry over the past few decades. In one of Transgene's research projects, Insulin and Hepatitis `B` vaccine were selected as model proteins. The conjugation of various peptides and proteins to different polymers and particulate systems has been shown to facilitate the in vitro and in vivo transport of protein moieties across the epithelial cells of the intestine. The technology relates to the field of pharmaceutical preparations such as vaccines and therapeutic proteins which are traditionally administered in injectable form, being suitable for oral delivery.