Product design and development consultancy 42 Technology (42T), based in St Ives, near Cambridge in the UK, has been granted worldwide pharmaceutical rights by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) to a manufacturing technology for precision powder dispensing. 42T has already secured the rights for non-pharmaceutical markets but is now actively seeking development partners in all application areas in the pharmaceutical and consumer healthcare industry.
SR One, GSK's venture capital arm that invests in emerging life science companies, played an instrumental role in the identification, structuring and transferring of the rights of this technology to 42T.
"Sticky web" technology can accurately "print" powdered active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) onto edible or inert webs coated with adhesive, without damaging the powder and at high speed. The powdered areas can then be die cut, folded, rolled or further processed into a dose form. The technology delivers active dose weights of 1-100mg, with accuracies better than 5%, according to the company, and eliminates the need for check weighing.
Sticky web was first developed by 42T for GSK as a high-speed manufacturing process to handle pure APIs; whereas conventional capsule filling or tablet manufacture relies on bulking out active materials with excipients to make them easier to weigh out and process. As a result, this new technology can significantly shorten r&d timescales by eliminating or reducing the need for formulation and stability studies. It is also said to be perfect for high-speed production environments as online inspection systems can be used to validate every powdered area and to improve process feedback, increase efficiency and reduce costs.
"Under the terms of our initial agreement, 42T was allowed by GSK to exploit sticky web technology for a number of major opportunities outside the pharmaceutical arena," said Dr Keith Smith, manager of strategic technologies at GSK pharmaceutical development.
"The approach offers considerable promise in many areas and we see benefits in widening the scope of the licence."
GSK will retain the core patents to the technology and will support 42T over the coming months in finding additional potential development partners.