Robert J. Lollini

For more than 30 years, IOMED® Inc, Salt Lake City, has been a leader in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of active transdermal drug delivery systems using its proprietary iontophoresis technology, a noninvasive method of enhancing and controlling the transport of water-soluble ionic drugs into and through the skin using low levels of electrical current. Robert J. Lollini, IOMED's president and CEO, recently spoke with Rehab Management about how his company's products are primarily used to treat acute local inflammation in the physical and occupational therapy and sports medicine markets.

Q: How do your products improve patient health care?

A: Acute local inflammatory conditions resulting from exercise, sports injuries, trauma, or repetitive motion disorders are among the leading types of injuries occurring in the workplace and among physically active adults. Our iontophoresis drug delivery products have been used by physical therapists in over 28 million patient treatments primarily to deliver dexamethasone sodium phosphate, a potent, highly effective, corticosteroid used to treat acute local inflammation. Our products offer enhanced safety by delivering the drug directly to the site of inflammation without the risks associated with needle injections near and around tendons and without the systemic side effects of high doses of oral nonsteroidal drugs.

Q: What is unique about IOMED's iontophoresis patches?

A: As with any drug delivery technology, safe, reproducible, and accurate dosing is of the utmost importance. IOMED's products incorporate advanced technology for ensuring that each of these parameters is met. They are designed to control the pH of the drug solution within a specified range to minimize the risk of any dangerous pH shifts during the prescribed treatment period. In addition, our products are designed to provide accurate dosing within their labeling specifications.

Q: What type of feedback do you most often hear regarding IOMED's drug delivery products?

A: Most often we hear that our products are the best. We hear this from clinicians that use our products, as well as from those that sell them and even from our competitors. Our greatest satisfaction comes from the feedback that we get from professional athletes and their trainers.

Q: What ideology keeps IOMED on track to meet the needs of its customers?

A: Because our products are used to deliver medications into the human body, we are committed to the safety and quality of our products. We use state-of-the-art technology in the design and manufacture of our products. In addition, we are committed to providing a steady stream of innovative products to improve patient outcomes.

Q: What can we expect from your company in the near future?

A: IOMED has long been a resource to the pharmaceutical industry in researching the application of iontophoretic drug delivery for specific drugs. We are currently undertaking to apply what we have learned to our current product offerings. In keeping with our ideology, in the coming year you can expect to see significant advancement in our commercial iontophoretic drug delivery systems.

—Morgan Saffari