Reflections on PODD 2026: Emerging Opportunities for Cyclodextrins in Advanced Drug Delivery

Event Recap by Tamas Sohayda from CarboHyde

PODD 2026 in Boston offered an excellent opportunity to explore the latest developments in drug delivery and exchange perspectives with scientists and industry representatives working at the forefront of pharmaceutical innovation.

Over two days, the conference highlighted the remarkable diversity of technologies being developed to address increasingly complex drug delivery challenges. From sophisticated devices and administration platforms to innovative formulation approaches and molecular engineering, one message was particularly clear: the future of drug delivery will depend on combining advances in chemistry, biology, and engineering.

From a cyclodextrin perspective, the conference was particularly interesting, even though no presentations were specifically dedicated to these molecules.

During more than 20 individual meetings, I had the opportunity to discuss the potential of cyclodextrins with representatives of several major US-based pharmaceutical companies. What stood out was their genuine interest in applications that extend cyclodextrins well beyond their established role as solubilizing excipients.

Three areas attracted particular attention:

Biologics, including proteins, antibodies, and vaccines

As the pharmaceutical industry increasingly focuses on biological therapeutics, formulation challenges associated with molecular stability, aggregation, and interactions with excipients and delivery materials are becoming more important.

Cyclodextrins offer several potentially valuable approaches to addressing these challenges, including modulating interactions with hydrophobic regions, reducing certain aggregation pathways, and contributing to the stabilization of sensitive formulations. Their emerging applications in vaccine delivery, including cyclodextrin-based carriers and immunomodulatory systems, represent another promising direction.

Gene delivery and nucleic acid therapeutics

The development of effective delivery systems for nucleic acids remains a major challenge, particularly regarding carrier stability, cellular uptake, intracellular trafficking, and delivery efficiency.

In this field, functionalized cyclodextrins and cyclodextrin-based polymers offer interesting possibilities as components of supramolecular assemblies and advanced delivery platforms. Although many of these technologies remain at relatively early stages of development, they illustrate how cyclodextrin chemistry can contribute to delivery strategies extending far beyond classical inclusion complexation.

Peptide formulation and delivery

Peptide therapeutics represent another rapidly developing area where formulation science plays a critical role. Limited solubility, chemical and physical instability, aggregation, and barriers to non-invasive administration continue to create significant development challenges.

Cyclodextrins may provide additional tools for addressing some of these limitations, either as individual formulation excipients or as components of more complex delivery systems. The possibilities of improving peptide developability, stabilization, and alternative delivery approaches generated particularly interesting discussions.

A broader perspective

Perhaps the most encouraging observation from PODD 2026 was the contrast between the limited visibility of cyclodextrins in the scientific programme and the considerable interest they generated in individual discussions.

This suggests an opportunity for the cyclodextrin field to expand its presence in emerging areas of pharmaceutical research. While traditional applications remain highly relevant, the growing structural and functional diversity of cyclodextrin derivatives, polymers, and conjugates creates possibilities for addressing challenges that cannot necessarily be solved with conventional excipients.

Of course, considerable research and development will be needed to translate many of these concepts into practical pharmaceutical technologies. Nevertheless, the willingness of major pharmaceutical companies to explore these possibilities is an encouraging indication of where future innovation could emerge.

For CarboHyde, PODD 2026 was therefore valuable not only as an opportunity to learn about the latest industry developments, but also as a platform for identifying new research directions, establishing connections, and initiating discussions that may develop into future collaborations.

Conclusion

My main conclusion is that cyclodextrins have an opportunity to evolve from established pharmaceutical excipients into increasingly versatile molecular tools for the development of next-generation drug delivery systems.

Author: Tamas Sohayda, CEO CarboHyde

Would you like to speak with CarboHyde about the possibilities of Cyclodextrins?