Progress and challenges in intravesical drug delivery.

Area of Science:

• Pharmacology
• Biomedical Engineering
• Urology

Background:

• Intravesical drug delivery (IDD) is a promising approach for bladder diseases.
• Conventional IDD faces challenges including voiding difficulties and poor mucosal/epithelial penetration, leading to low efficacy.
• Limited clinical translation hinders the widespread adoption of IDD therapies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a comprehensive overview of IDD, encompassing its history, benefits, and inherent challenges.
• To explore the physical barriers affecting IDD, such as voiding, and penetration limitations.
• To discuss current strategies for overcoming these barriers and propose a roadmap for clinical advancement.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of IDD history, advantages, and challenges.
• Analysis of physical barriers in IDD (voiding, mucosal, epithelial penetration).
• Exploration of existing strategies to overcome IDD limitations.

Main Results:

• Significant progress has been made in developing optimal IDD systems.
• Key attributes for effective IDD systems have been identified.
• Despite advancements, a clear workflow for clinical optimization is lacking.

Conclusions:

• Overcoming physical bladder barriers is crucial for effective IDD.
• Further research and development of in vitro/in vivo models are needed.
• A defined pathway is required to translate optimized IDD systems into clinical practice.