Biologics and Vaccines for Nasal and Pulmonary Drug Delivery

Abstract

Biologics are a rapidly emerging class of therapeutics that have succeeded clinically and commercially due to their specificity and efficacy against various diseases including cancer, inflammatory, and autoimmune diseases. Even though most biologics are administered parenterally, nasal and pulmonary delivery would be beneficial due to numerous advantages such as being patient-friendly, noninvasive, cost-effective, and less toxic. While there are currently a few nasal and inhaled biologics on the market, for example, Suprefact®, Minirin®, Miacalcin®, most of them are designed to treat ailments related to prostate carcinoma, diabetes, osteoporosis but not for respiratory diseases. Moreover, there are some marketed nasally delivered vaccines such as Flumist® and Nasovac-S® against influenza virus, inhaled vaccines that did not make it to market. Given the rise of respiratory infections such as MERS, SARS, and SARS-CoV-2, a great deal of interest exists in developing nasal and pulmonary-delivered biologics and vaccines for respiratory diseases. The objective of this chapter is to describe the potential for pulmonary and nasal delivery of biologics. Each section delves into introducing biologics and vaccines, followed by a portrayal of recent updates on nasal and pulmonary delivery of biologics and vaccines. The most promising formulation strategies for enhancing the stability and therapeutic efficacy of biologics as a part of research and development will be discussed.