Dose once, treat forever: drugs are being engineered to last much longer

TL;DR - Researchers are engineering medications that can remain active in the body for months or years, potentially enabling one-time or highly infrequent dosing. Such treatments could improve prevention and care where repeated access to medicines is difficult, especially in low- and middle-income countries.

• The approach aims to extend drug persistence far beyond conventional dosing schedules.
• Longer-lasting formulations could reduce adherence challenges and the need for frequent clinical visits.
• The Nature summary does not specify particular technologies, drugs, clinical results, or development stages.