Interview with Laxxon COO Klaus Kuehne

Exploring Patient Safety, Compliance & 3D Screen Printing with Laxxon COO Klaus Kühne

In the healthcare industry, a patient's adherence to their medication dosage and cadence, as well as their relationship and honesty with their healthcare professional prescribing, is known as patient compliance.

Patient compliance is a critical component in a patient's health and in the success of their prescribed medication. When a patient does not adhere to their medication, it is called patient noncompliance, which can be deadly.

How Big Is the Patient Noncompliance Problem?

The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association (JAOA) cites research from the World Health Organization (WHO) showing that "approximately 125,000 people with treatable ailments die each year in the United States because they do not take their medication properly." Revealing the extent to which patient compliance is a significant challenge, the same report indicates that "10% to 25% of hospital and nursing home admissions result from patient noncompliance[,] about 50% of prescriptions filled for chronic diseases in developed countries are not taken correctly, and as many as 40% of patients do not adhere to their treatment regimens."

According to the American Medical Association, many variables influence patient noncompliance – from fear of side effects to financial barriers and depression.

Additionally, patients who show patient noncompliance report having issues with taking their medication regularly or confusion due to complex dosing schedules and the number of medications. These latter issues, however, are being addressed with Laxxon Medical's 3D screen printing technology.

Laxxon's Approach to the Issue

Laxxon Medical's patented 3D screen printing technology (SPID® Technology) allows for the heterogeneous distribution of API in any given tablet or dosage form.

"Heterogeneous distribution means that within our tablets, we are able to control not only the amount and type of API or substance which is released but also the time at which this substance is distributed in the body. One particularly interesting element of heterogeneous distribution is the sequential release of actives. For example, if a tablet contains more than one API, we can control different release times per API based on the highly complex printed structures of our tablets. This is only possible through 3D screen printing." -Klaus Kühne, Laxxon Medical COO

Heterogenous distribution and sequential release offer beneficial clinical impacts for patients, allowing for fewer dosages, longer-lasting results, and fewer side effects. For example, through the