Controlled Release Veterinary Drug Delivery : Biological and Pharmaceutical Considerations

Many controlled release veterinary drug delivery systems (CRVDDS) are presently in use, and recently there has been a host of new CRVDDS within veterinary medicine. The challenges of this area of drug delivery arise from the unique anatomy and physiology of the target animal, the cost constraints associated with the value of the animal being treated and the extended periods of time that delivery must be sustained for (often measured in months).

The purpose of this book is to introduce the reader to the unique opportunities and challenges of the field of CRVDDS and to explain and discuss the basic controlled release principles underlying the development of CRVDDS. Its aim is to provide an overview of many of the areas where CRVVDS have application, and to highlight the opportunities and prospects for controlled release technology in the veterinary field.

Controlled Release Veterinary Drug Delivery comprises chapters that provide workers in the field (and those interested in this area) with information on the design, development and assessment of a variety of CRVDDS. The book contains chapters that describe the relevant animal physiological and anatomical considerations alongside descriptions of current and emerging controlled release delivery systems for a variety of routes for drug delivery, and present overviews on the physical and chemical assessment of veterinary controlled release delivery systems.

The veterinary area is abound with opportunities for the development of controlled release drug delivery technologies. It is an area of medicine that is open to the acceptance of novel drug delivery devices, and which readily encompasses the use of novel routes of administration. It is an area of many unmet needs, most of which offer opportunities and unique challenges for the innovative formulation scientist to provide solutions. This book will provide an insight into the biological, clinical and pharmaceutical challenges that face the formulation scientist in this interesting and diverse area of research.

Michael J. Rathbone, PhD is Founder and Managing Director of his own company, ULTI Pharmaceuticals, NZ. He is also an associate at University of Technology Sydney, Australia. He has taught at International Medical University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Griffith University, Australia and he was the Director of Research and General Manager InterAg, New Zealand, where he spearheaded the companies veterinary controlled drug delivery research and directed their national and global collaborative research activities. He is a Fellow of the Controlled Release Society, has served on the Board of Directors of the CRS and has received several prestigious awards for his contribution to the science and technology of controlled release. He has edited 8 books in the area of modified release drug delivery and 10 special theme issues of journals such as Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews (Elsevier) and Journal of Controlled Release (Elsevier).