With the potential for targeted therapy, and therefore reduced side effects, nanomedicine holds the promise of significantly improving quality of life parameters.

Key to nanomedicine’s rapid evolution has been the embrace of nanotechnology-based applications by pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceuticals and drug delivery companies. Prominent instances include the use of Elan Corporation’s NanoCrystal technology by Wyeth and Merck and the deployment of Quantum Dot Corporation’s Qdot(r) particles by Pfizer, GSK, Astra Zeneca and Genentech.

Key impediments to growth: scalability and need for quality control.