FutForm · Project

Faster Drug Formulation Testing With Advanced Analytics to Cut Pharma Development Costs

healthTestedTRL 4

nottingham.ac.uk

Getting a new drug to market costs billions, and a big chunk of that is spent figuring out the best way to package and deliver the active ingredient into the body. FutForm brought together a university lab with three small companies to test better ways of analyzing drug formulations early — think of it like quality-checking a recipe before you cook the whole meal. They worked on nanoparticles for swallowing or applying drugs to skin, hydrogels that carry living cells to damaged tissue, and enzyme mixtures that help isolate cells for lab testing. The goal was to catch problems sooner so companies waste less money on formulations that fail in late-stage trials.

By the numbers

$2.6 billion

Estimated cost of bringing a new medicine to market

$300 million

Additional post-market approval R&D costs per drug

>145%

Increase in drug development costs since 2003

SME partners with early-stage pharmaceutical technologies

75%

Industry partner ratio in the consortium

Countries collaborating across the consortium

The business problem

What needed solving

Developing a new pharmaceutical costs over $2.6 billion, and those costs have risen more than 145% since 2003. A major driver is that formulation problems — how the drug is packaged and delivered into the body — are often discovered too late in development, when fixes are extremely expensive. Companies need better tools to predict formulation performance early, before committing to costly clinical trials.

The solution

What was built

The project delivered four concrete outputs: an optimized nanoparticle platform formulation tested for oral and topical drug delivery (including vitamin A skin delivery and insulin oral delivery candidates); proof-of-concept data for 3D printed cell scaffolds used in drug and toxicity screening; regulatory-supporting data (biocompatibility, toxicity, animal models) for a hydrogel cell-delivery product pursuing CE marking; and advanced analytical protocols (AFM, ToF-SIMS, SEM, Franz cell testing) transferred from university to industrial practice.

Audience

Who needs this

Pharma SMEs developing oral or topical drug delivery systemsMedical device companies pursuing CE mark for hydrogel or cell-therapy productsContract research organizations running drug screening and toxicity testingCosmetics and dermatology companies needing nanoparticle skin delivery systemsRegenerative medicine startups working with cell-laden hydrogels

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Pharmaceutical drug delivery

SME

Target: SMEs developing oral or topical drug delivery systems

If you are a pharma SME struggling with poor drug absorption or unstable formulations — this project developed an optimized nanoparticle platform tested for oral and topical delivery. They characterized formulations across all 4 classes of the Biopharmaceutical Classification System, including poorly soluble drugs and biopharmaceuticals like insulin. This could help you screen delivery candidates faster before committing to expensive clinical trials.

Regenerative medicine and medical devices

SME

Target: Companies developing hydrogel or cell-therapy products seeking CE marking

If you are a medical device company working on cell-delivery hydrogels and need regulatory data — this project generated biocompatibility, toxicity, and animal model testing data specifically to support European CE mark attainment. They combined advanced characterization (high-resolution imaging, performance testing) with industry-standard safety tests. This directly supports your path to market approval for injectable or implantable hydrogel products.

Drug screening and toxicology

any

Target: Contract research organizations or biotech firms running drug and toxicity screening

If you are a CRO or biotech company looking for better in-vitro screening tools — this project produced proof-of-concept data for 3D printed cell scaffolds that grow organotypic tissues for drug and toxicity testing. They used advanced biophysical assays including AFM imaging and protein aggregation analysis. This could reduce your reliance on animal testing while improving the predictive accuracy of your screening platform.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to license or adopt these formulation technologies?

The project involved 3 SME partners (Abiel, Inovapotek, Hy2Care) who each own early-stage technologies that were optimized during the project. Licensing terms would need to be negotiated directly with each SME or the University of Nottingham depending on which technology interests you. The EU contribution was EUR 414,000 for the full research exchange program.

Can these formulations be manufactured at industrial scale?

The project focused on optimization and proof-of-concept testing rather than scale-up manufacturing. Nanoparticle formulations were characterized for size, morphology, and drug loading efficiency, and hydrogels underwent animal model testing. Moving from lab-optimized formulations to production scale would require additional development work.

Who owns the intellectual property from this project?

IP likely resides with the respective SME partners and the University of Nottingham, as each worked on their own technology platform. Abiel owns the enzyme/cell isolation technology, Inovapotek the nanoparticle platform, and Hy2Care the hydrogel formulations. Specific licensing arrangements would need to be discussed with each partner.

How close are these products to regulatory approval?

One deliverable specifically targeted generating data to support European CE mark attainment for the Hy2Care hydrogel, including biocompatibility, toxicity, and orthotopic animal model testing. The nanoparticle and enzyme formulation technologies produced proof-of-concept and optimization data but would need further regulatory work before market entry.

What analytical methods were developed and can they be applied to our formulations?

The University of Nottingham contributed advanced surface analytical and biophysical tools including AFM imaging, ToF-SIMS, SEM, Franz cell ex-vivo testing, and protein aggregation analysis. These characterization methods were specifically designed to predict formulation behavior at earlier development stages, potentially applicable to any pharmaceutical formulation challenge.

What evidence exists that these approaches actually reduce development costs?

The project objective cites that medicine development costs exceed $2.6 billion per new drug, having increased over 145% since 2003. While the project demonstrated that advanced analytics can characterize formulations earlier, direct cost-reduction metrics from the project itself are not available in the published data.

Consortium

Who built it

This is a lean, industry-heavy consortium with 3 out of 4 partners being SMEs (75% industry ratio), spanning 4 countries (UK, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal). The University of Nottingham provided the advanced analytical capabilities while each SME brought a distinct commercial technology: Abiel (Italy) with enzyme formulations for cell isolation, Inovapotek (Portugal) with nanoparticle drug delivery platforms, and Hy2Care (Netherlands) with hydrogel cell-delivery systems. The EUR 414,000 budget funded researcher exchanges rather than large-scale R&D, meaning the real value lies in the knowledge transfer embedded into these three companies' product development pipelines. For a business looking to engage, each SME represents a potential technology partner with a specific, commercially-oriented capability enhanced by university-grade analytical methods.

THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAMCoordinator · UK
ABIEL SOCIETA A RESPONSABILITA LIMITATAparticipant · IT

How to reach the team

The coordinator is the University of Nottingham, School of Pharmacy (UK). Contact the principal investigator through the university's research partnerships office.

Order a report on this consortium See THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to connect with the FutForm team about their nanoparticle delivery platform, hydrogel CE mark data, or advanced formulation analytics? SciTransfer can arrange a direct introduction — contact us for a one-page technology brief.

Order a report on this topic More in Health & Biomedical