Combination drug

A combination drug, broadly, is a medicine formulated to include two or more active ingredients (e.g. over-the-counter (OTC) or prescription drugs and hormones; vitamins, minerals, supplements, herbs, alkaloids) in a single dosage form (e.g. one tablet, capsule, softgel, elixir, tincture, or suppository). Combination drugs may further be classified a fixed-dose combination and/or a polypill, whereby the former frequently include mass-products, mass-marketed as versatile, multi-purpose treatment options, and distributed to large patient populations, with each person carrying unique genetic factors that determine their susceptibility to disease or medical symptoms, and with their own personalized health goals and treatment plans, necessitating a variety of treatment options for a wide variety of patient treatment needs. A polypill is a tablet or capsule containing four or more active ingredients, frequently requiring custom preparation at a compounding pharmacy in order to meet the personalized specifications deemed necessary by a patient's medical prescription; such specificities may include uncommon, unconventional, or unavailable dosage, dosage form, a modified release mechanism, necessity for a particular speed of onset and/or duration of action. Polypills can encompass four or more of any combination of approved prescription drugs, over the counter drugs, and may also include nutritional supplements, amino acids, enzymes, hormones, vitamins and/or essential minerals.

Fixed-dose combination drugs were initially developed to target a single disease, as with antiretroviral FDCs indicated for treating AIDS and HIV. Combination drug treatment conceptually emphasizes simplified treatment plans, reduced pill burden and increased patient compliance by offering accessible and affordable ingredients, generally generic drugs with established therapeutic efficacy and the ability to treat a variety of symptoms and conditions amongst a large patient population with varying treatment needs.