Virtual special issue of Nordic POP: Patient-oriented products (Editorial)

Prescribing medicine today is based on a one-size-fits-all principle. There is, however, a clear need for more personalized solutions in several critical therapy areas. Recent development within the genomics and diagnostic fields has enabled development of new innovative medicinal products relying on a combination of diagnostic tools and personalized doses. This approach is paving the way towards future health care systems based on personalized medicines. Limited attention has been given to the personalized end-product requirements for optimal therapeutic performance. Complex dosing regimens will require advances in product design to enable precise administration of the most appropriate dose. Innovations in pharmaceutical product design are required to alleviate potential problems. With this guiding principle as a common goal, the university hub Nordic POP (Nordic Patient-Oriented Products) was formed and funded by NordForsk for the years 2018-2025. The beauty of the Nordic POP spirit is to bring out the synergies in pharmaceutical sciences in the Nordic region. The willingness of academia and industry to share knowledge, infrastructure and resources has been the perfect ground for collaborative initiative to blossom and bear fruit. To showcase a few of the activities generated via these joint efforts, this Virtual Special Issue (VSI) presents innovative patient-oriented products, including new product design principles, novel methods for better understanding of the product performance, and bring us forward towards a paradigm shift in the manufacturing of these products. With these approaches, new personalized treatment strategies can be designed and the individual variation between patients can be considered.