WHY IS THE NASAL ROUTE REDEFINING SYSTEMIC AND CNS DRUG DELIVERY?
Published: 12/10/2026
Converging Trends Driving Changes in Nasal Route Medicines
Until about ten years ago nasal drug delivery was primarily associated with the treatment of local conditions such as allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, and nasal congestion. Since then, advances in pharmaceutical sciences, formulation technologies, device engineering, and patient-centric healthcare are redefining therapeutic opportunities in intranasal drug delivery.
A growing number of prescription systemic-acting drugs originally administered in injectable forms have been successfully repurposed and achieved market approval in metered-dose nasal sprays. Innovative clinical stage pharmaceutical companies are focussing on nasal systemic drug delivery as an efficient route of administration for therapies requiring rapid absorption, ease of use, and improved patient experience. By targeting the highly vascularised nasal mucosa, drugs can enter systemic circulation quickly while bypassing gastrointestinal degradation and first-pass hepatic metabolism, offering a compelling alternative to systemic delivery via oral and injectable route. Further advances in nasal delivery are being driven by efforts to target drug delivery to the olfactory zone as the approach underpinning direct nosetobrain uptake via the olfactory nerve and epithelial pathways. These exploratory drug transportation pathways may enable the development of clinically effective, and more patient-friendly therapies compared with invasive injections. At Nemera, we see this evolution being driven by several converging trends: the need for non-invasive treatment options, increasing demand for self-administration,and the shift toward healthcare solutions that can be delivered outside traditional clinical settings. This momentum is reflected in market forecasts, with leading intranasal therapies expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.7% between 2025 and 2030.
New Therapeutic Frontiers for Nasal Systemic Drug Delivery
What was once a route dedicated to local treatments is expanding across multiple therapeutic areas where speed, convenience, and accessibility are critical.
Emergency and Rescue Medicines
Emergency care remains one of the most established applications for nasal systemic drug delivery. Systemic-acting compounds such as naloxone and nalmefene for opioid overdose reversal; epinephrine for acute epileptic seizures and zavegepant and sumatriptan for migraine rescue, have demonstrated the effectiveness of nasal administration in emergency and rescue situations.
