Translating vaginal films from bench to clinic: Interplay between user preferences and drug delivery considerations

Drug delivery via the female genital tract presents unique opportunities to address critical women’s health needs such as prevention of sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancy. Our work has focused on the development of thin film platforms as a versatile vaginal dosage form. We have advanced this technology from immediate-release formulations to extended-release platforms capable of sustaining drug delivery for over 30 days. This presentation will address considerations for thin film formulation development and scale-up. It will additionally provide insights gained from user feedback. Challenges associated with translating vaginal products from in vitro and preclinical models to clinical applications, along with potential solutions, will be discussed.