Patient real world handling of protein medications
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Patient real world handling of protein medications– a smart label study
IRAS ID
331245
Contact name
Isla Mackenzie
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Dundee
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
How medicines are stored, transported and used can affect their quality and how well the medicine works. Medicines can be affected by how much light or moisture they are exposed to as well as at what temperature they are stored, and any vibrations they experience. Medicine manufacturers provide hospitals, pharmacists, doctors, nurses and patients with guidance on how best to store, transport and use their medicines. However, there is a lack of knowledge about what really happens to medicines when they leave the manufacturer.
We are doing this research because we want to understand better what happens to people’s medicines once patients have collected them from a pharmacy or they have been delivered to the patient at home. We are particularly interested in what happens to a group of medicines called protein medicines which are used to treat a wide number of health conditions (for example insulin in diabetes, some treatments for inflammatory conditions, skin conditions and other health problems). We are interested in protein medicines in particular because these medicines may be more prone to being affected by how and where they are stored and how they are transported.
The study is expected to last for 12 months and approximately 20 participants currently taking protein drugs will be recruited from secondary care. Medication handling will be followed for approximately 4 weeks using a credit-card sized smart label containing sensors. This will be attached to medication packaging, and this study will investigate how much light and moisture it is exposed to as well as what temperature, movements and vibrations it experiences during normal storage and handling by participants. Participants will also complete a paper diary to record what happens to their medication during the monitoring period.
REC name
East Midlands - Nottingham 2 Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/EM/0207
Date of REC Opinion
19 Sep 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion