Crystal Pharmatech and Particle Sciences form CRO partnership
To develop optimal solutions for insoluble drugs
Crystal Pharmatech, a technology driven contract research organisation (CRO) based in Suzhou, China, has formed a partnership with Particle Sciences, a US-based provider of drug development services headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, to develop a optimal solutions for developing low solubility pharmaceutical compounds.
Over the past five years, approximately 65% of pharmaceutical compounds under development have been sparingly soluble to practically insoluble in water, says Crystal Pharmatech, which also has an operation in Princeton. This has led to the need for more innovative formulation and solubilisation techniques and finding the appropriate CRO to bring about the optimal development path for both drug substance (API) and drug product (formulation) is of utmost importance.
Crystal Pharmatech has experience in selecting the appropriate solid phase of a range of compounds in addition to screening, evaluating and selecting the optimal form for pharmaceutical development.
Particle Sciences has more than two decades of experience in formulating active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and multiple delivery/formulation formats. In addition, the company is able to identify common obstacles in drug product development and provide a resource of delivery technologies to address these obstacles.
‘Whether the best way to develop your product is a co-crystal or nano-suspension depends on the material properties of your drug and the delicate interplay between API and formulation development,’ said Alex Chen, CEO of Crystal Pharmatech.
Robert Lee, Vice President, Pharmaceutical Development at Particle Sciences, added: ‘A client will often work with a CRO to find a path forward for API development, only to realise that the chosen path is unacceptable for formulation development and, as a result, the project goes over the allocated time and budget.’
In this partnership, Crystal Pharmatech and Particle Sciences will use each other’s core expertise to offer clients the optimal programme for their drug candidates.