Patient Acceptability and Preferences for Solid Oral Dosage Form Drug Product Attributes: A Scoping Review

Area of Science:

• Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Patient-Reported Outcomes
• Drug Delivery Systems

Background:

• Patient-centric drug product design lacks a consistent framework, despite known links between patient preferences, adherence, and drug effectiveness.
• Understanding patient acceptability and preferences for solid oral dosage forms (SODF) is critical for improving therapeutic outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review current understanding of patient acceptability and preferences for SODF attributes.
• To assess the potential impact of these attributes on patient behaviors and outcomes.

Main Methods:

• A scoping review of Embase, Ovid MEDLINE, and PubMed databases was conducted.
• Full-text articles published between January 2013 and May 2023 were screened and analyzed thematically.
• Nineteen studies met the inclusion criteria.

Main Results:

• Four domains of drug product attributes were identified: appearance, swallowability, palatability, and handling.
• Key attributes include texture, form, size, shape, color, marking, taste, mouthfeel, and smell.
• Swallowability and size were identified as key domain and attribute, respectively; palatability and handling require further investigation.

Conclusions:

• A framework for patient-centric SODF design is proposed, categorizing attributes into appearance, swallowability, palatability, and handling.
• The framework encourages comprehensive assessment of drug product attributes' impact on patient acceptability, preferences, and outcomes.
• Further research is needed on the impact of drug product attributes on patient behaviors and outcomes.