Commercializing Nanomedicine : Industrial Applications, Patents, and Ethics

Following two decades of tremendous advancements in biomedical research, nanomedicine has now spread from labs to hospital wards and is already starting to redesign the state of the art in clinical practice. This book covers the latest trends in nanotechnology-driven translational medicine while providing the readers with the need-to-know ethical and legal factors that are accompanying this epochal shift in the way medicine is conceived and practiced across the globe. Edited by prominent nanotechnology researchers, surgeons, and entrepreneurs, this book will appeal to anyone involved in cutting-edge nanomedicine.

The authors of this book address all individuals approaching the study of nanomedicine for the first time ever, as well as those already profitably working in the field either as scientists, doctors, lawyers, or entrepreneurs. Teeming with accurate, up-to-date, and enjoyable content, the book describes some enlightening facts and figures pertaining to the growing field of nanomedicine. Open problems and potentialities are identified and discussed, offering a series of forecasts regarding its global impact on healthcare systems in the coming two decades. This introduction is followed by three different sections: (a) one purely scientific, which delves deep into areas as diverse as proteomics or delivery systems for nanodrugs, demonstrating how nanotechnology is reshaping the way diagnosis and treatment of diseases are made; (b) one focused on the ethical challenges that governments and companies are facing or will have to face in order to protect patients’ rights; and (c) one entirely dedicated to the legal and entrepreneurial issues that are driving this entire medical revolution. In the pages of this lucidly written book, scientists and managers will certainly find the need-to-have tool on their desk to thrive and succeed in the commercialization of nanomedicine.