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Lessons in simplicity that should shape the future of drug delivery

Nature Biotechnology volume 33, pages 1026–1027 (2015)Cite this article

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To the Editor:

Your Editorial in the October 2014 issue argued that drug delivery researchers should adopt a new way of thinking1. Instead of pursuing safe and efficient drug delivery systems in a rather empirical way—as frequently occurs today—you suggested more emphasis should be placed on finding and understanding biological mechanisms that drive the delivery process. Although we agree this is an important aim, we believe it is of equal importance to stress some valuable lessons from the decades of drug delivery research that lie behind us2. Many successful delivery concepts from the past, which have instigated important breakthroughs, were largely based on simple, substantial and robust physicochemical or biological principles.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ghent Research Group on Nanomedicines, Laboratory of General Biochemistry and Physical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Koen Raemdonck & Stefaan C De Smedt

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  1. Koen Raemdonck
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  2. Stefaan C De Smedt
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Correspondence to Stefaan C De Smedt.

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Raemdonck, K., De Smedt, S. Lessons in simplicity that should shape the future of drug delivery. Nat Biotechnol 33, 1026–1027 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.3366

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