Drug-drug cocrystals: Opportunities and challenges

Area of Science:

• Pharmaceutical Science
• Materials Science
• Drug Delivery

Background:

• Drug-drug cocrystals are gaining attention as a strategy to improve drug physicochemical and biopharmaceutical properties.
• Cocrystal formation allows for property enhancement without chemical modification of the active pharmaceutical ingredient.
• Despite advantages, the number of reported drug-drug cocrystals remains limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the scientific literature on drug-drug cocrystals reported in the last decade.
• To highlight the potential benefits and applications of drug-drug cocrystal technology.
• To identify the challenges and opportunities in the development of new drug-drug cocrystals.

Main Methods:

• Comprehensive literature search of scientific databases for drug-drug cocrystal studies published within the last 10 years.
• Analysis of reported cocrystal compositions, preparation methods, and characterized properties.
• Synthesis of findings to identify trends, successes, and limitations in the field.

Main Results:

• A growing but still limited number of drug-drug cocrystals have been reported over the past decade.
• Cocrystal formation has demonstrated improvements in solubility, stability, and bioavailability for various drug combinations.
• Key challenges include predicting successful cocrystal formation and scaling up production.

Conclusions:

• Drug-drug cocrystal technology presents a viable and advantageous approach for developing improved medicines.
• Further research is needed to overcome existing challenges and facilitate broader clinical application.
• The development of drug-drug cocrystals holds significant promise for future pharmaceutical innovation.