We are pleased to bring you the inaugural issue of Drug Delivery and Translational Research, an official publication of the Controlled Release Society made available by Springer Publishing. The journal’s aim is to provide a unique forum for scientific publication of high-quality research that is exclusively focused on translational aspects of drug delivery. We anticipate that such a publication would foster multidisciplinary collaborative efforts and thinking that could move research and discoveries from bench to bedside through technological innovation.

Modern therapeutic agents, particularly protein- and nucleic acid-based drugs, as well as water-insoluble drugs, require the development of specialized delivery systems to maximize their therapeutic efficacy. Similarly, several drugs are toxic and hence cannot be used without a protective “shell” preventing contact of the toxic agent with sensitive cells and tissues. It is anticipated that through rational drug delivery research, many therapeutics that otherwise could not be used for one or the other reason can be made effective. Many new drug entities identified through the drug discovery process are discarded because of their unfavorable physiochemical properties or pharmacokinetic parameters. These substances might be salvaged, and their safety/toxicity issues could very well be resolved through novel mechanisms of drug delivery.

Drug delivery research thus potentially can bridge the gap between drug discovery and the translation of drugs into commercial products. There are several examples showing that drug delivery has made an impact on clinical outcome: drug-eluting stents, dexamethasone-eluting pacing electrodes, birth control implants, and drug-polymer brain implants for the treatment of malignant gliomas, to name a few. Nanomedicine, which explores medical applications of nanotechnology, is also poised to make a significant impact on drug therapy. There are still many untreatable disease conditions in which successful drug delivery systems can make a difference in clinical outcome.

Because of its potential direct impact on patient care, drug delivery and translational research has become a prime focus of many laboratories. This journal thus could serve as a focal point for publication of drug delivery research that could have a direct impact on clinical outcomes in the relatively near term. To that effect, the articles published in this inaugural issue reflect the main theme of the journal. We welcome the interest of our colleagues in this growing field and encourage all investigators to consider submitting their clinically relevant data to Drug Delivery and Translational Research.