Since the first consumer-grade 3D printer came out, we’ve seen numerous attempts at applying the same technology for making non-plastic objects, such as this food printer, this plush doll printer, and this custom makeup printer. And we’re guessing that will continue, given the convenience of being able to do your own small-scale product fabrication at home. The Doser DoseRX1, for instance, is a 3D printer that seeks to bring drug manufacturing directly to your local pharmacy.
That’s right, they made a 3D printer for pharmaceuticals, making it possible for pharmacies to make their own medications to fulfill prescriptions instead of having to wait for a new batch to ship. How useful will this be? We’re not entirely sure, but if you’ve ever visited a pharmacy only to be told they don’t have your medication in stock, we imagine tech like this can really come in handy.
The Doser DoseRX1 is a desktop machine that looks similar to the current crop of consumer-grade fabrication devices in the market. As such, you can a touchscreen display for input and a build area inside, where, the outfit claims, it can manufacture up to 100 tablets per hour. Yes, it takes a while to do the printing, so chances are, you’ll order your prescription and come back a few hours later to pick them up. According to the outfit, the device can be used to produce around 80 percent of all medication currently available in the market.
So how does it work? It comes with a stainless steel cartridge where pharmacists can put the necessary ingredients for each medication. Once that’s filled up, they place the cartridge in the device, which immediately preheats it to combine the ingredients properly, then adjusts the temperature to whatever’s needed for the medication being produced. From there, you use the touchscreen to input the required dosage and number of tablets needed, after which the device will take over, extruding each tablet until the order is fulfilled.
The Doser DoseRX1 is supposedly compliant with all GMP environment standards, ensuring it produces consistent and controlled medication with no contamination. The fact that it extrudes semi-solid materials with the tablets as the finished product means that minimal powder substances will be left in the build area. They also use smoothly-curved panels for the print bed, which is also removable, making it easy to switch to a different one when cleaning or producing a different medication.
Obviously, this machine is not intended for a consumer audience. Instead, it’s likely aimed at pharmacies, hospitals, and medical professionals, who should be able to use them to provide much-needed medication for their patients. This could be especially helpful for rare medications that many pharmacies don’t stock, as they can simply keep the raw materials on hand and print a batch of the medicine as needed. Hopefully, it can lead to cutting down the price of medication, too, which a lot of people will probably appreciate.
The Doser DoseRX1 is scheduled to exhibit at CES 2024 in Las Vegas. You can learn more about it from the link below.