Targeting ageing: the next frontier in drug delivery systems

Abstract

Population ageing is rapidly reshaping healthcare systems worldwide, yet most drug delivery systems (DDSs) continue to be designed using conventional models that inadequately reflect age-related physiological changes. Ageing is associated with progressive decline in tissue function, altered immune responses, and increased prevalence of chronic diseases, all of which significantly influence therapeutic outcomes. Emerging evidence suggests that biological hallmarks of ageing—including cellular senescence, chronic inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, and impaired tissue repair—directly affect drug absorption, distribution, and retention across multiple delivery routes. This commentary discusses how ageing-associated changes compromise the performance of oral, transdermal, ocular, and pulmonary drug delivery systems. Reduced gastrointestinal motility, dysphagia, skin barrier alterations, ocular degeneration, and declining pulmonary function collectively limit the effectiveness of conventional formulations in older adults. Recent advances in sustained-release formulations, biodegradable implants, nanocarriers, and senescence-targeted delivery platforms provide new opportunities to address these challenges. However, elderly populations remain significantly underrepresented in formulation development and clinical translation. We argue that ageing should no longer be treated as a secondary variable in pharmaceutical design. Instead, future DDS development must incorporate age-associated biological mechanisms to create personalized, adaptive, and safer therapeutic strategies for growing elderly populations.
Keywords: Ageing, drug delivery systems, cellular senescence, nanomedicine, elderly therapeutics, precision medicine