NIST Awards Contract for 3D Printed Medication Quality Assurance
InfraTrac, a Maryland-based manufacturer of quality assurance (QA) solutions for 3D printed products, has been awarded a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), for its near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy device. The two-year contract for an undisclosed amount will support InfraTrac’s further development, and ultimately commercialization, of the NIR spectroscopy system.
InfraTrac completed work on Phase I of the contract earlier this year, work which the company says successfully demonstrated that the product allows pharmacy staff to perform QA on “locally-produced 3D printed medication”, specifically by guaranteeing that each dose has been correctly formulated. According to InfraTrac, the purpose of the research in Phase II will be to use NIR “to detect wrong drugs, wrong doses, wrong combinations, and failed prints”.
For the Phase II project, InfraTrac is verifying the efficacy of its system with the M3DIMAKER 1, a printer made by a UK company, FabRx. Notably, FabRx makes three unique and interchangeable printheads for its M3DIMAKER platforms, including Semi Solid Extrusion (SSE), Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), and Direct Powder Extrusion (DPE). Thus, this allows InfraTrac to test its NIR spectroscopy device’s viability for a variety of different feedstocks and printing techniques.

In a press release about the Phase II SBIR grant from the NIST, Sharon Flank, InfraTrac’s founder and CEO, said, “We are thrilled to have NIST’s support as we continue to develop better protections for patients receiving 3D printed medications. We intend to expand our collaboration with the University of Maryland’s School of Pharmacy as we deploy the NIST grant to bring fast, easy, and highly reliable quality controls into point-of-care 3DP drug production.”

Aside from the sheer fact that this serves as evidence that add-on technologies for 3D printed pharmaceuticals are already being commercialized, suggesting the entire market segment is reaching a new level of technological maturity, the most intriguing aspect of this announcement is the idea of “locally-produced” 3D printed drugs. As with most other areas of the additive manufacturing (AM) sector, the potential to produce right at the point of need has been often touted as one of the possible advantages of AM for pharmaceuticals.
But after almost a decade, ZipDose is still the only 3D printed drug with FDA approval on the market, and drugs have only been 3D printed on-site in hospitals and pharmacies in limited instances elsewhere around the world. No one really knows what would happen if the technology were deployed widely at scale in terms of supply chains: whether the norm would be to simply replace existing factory infrastructure, or if printing drugs at the pharmacy might actually become widespread.
It’s interesting, then, that at least one company is developing a product with the NIST with the idea in mind that it will happen on-site, especially considering that this process is devoted to QA. Stringent and reliable QA is obviously an absolute necessity for the 3D printing of drugs to ever become prevalent, and making this as uncomplicated a process as possible with products like what InfraTrac is developing will be vital for it to happen at the point of need.
Subscribe to Our Email Newsletter
Stay up-to-date on all the latest news from the 3D printing industry and receive information and offers from third party vendors.
Print Services
Upload your 3D Models and get them printed quickly and efficiently.
You May Also Like
Daring AM: 3D Printing Antennas, Factories, and Rockets in Space
From 3D printed antennas rising 100,000 feet above Earth to futuristic orbital factories and metal parts made in space, 3D printing is reshaping how we build for space. In three...
New Tech Transmits 3D Printing Granules in Microgravity
Researchers from the University of Glasgow have secured a patent for an in-space microgravity 3D printing technology. The patented invention employs a conveyor-based system to transport granulate material for fused...
Flexibility Is the Bottom Line: Touring the Visitech Americas DLP Light Engine Factory
Visitech, a leader in optics for digital light processing (DLP) and powder bed fusion (PBF), recently expanded its footprint in the U.S. with a new factory in Allen, Texas. This...
3devo’s Filament Maker TWO Advances Custom 3D Printing Filament Production
The Dutch firm 3devo has been producing compact filament makers for several years, establishing their devices as mainstays for polymer and filament companies worldwide. The 3devo machines enable these companies...