Melbourn Scientific to offer TeraView alternative to wet dissolution

Melbourn Scientific, the Royston, UK-based provider of analytical and formulation services to the pharma industry, is now offering the Terahertz Pulsed Imaging (TPI) non-destructive technology developed by TeraView as a service alongside its existing capabilities.

This potential alternative to wet dissolution can generate precise 3D images of solid dose systems, which can be used to identify and quantify a tablet's coating uniformity, thickness and porosity. A US Food and Drug Administration study claimed that better prediction and control of drug release could be achieved by using terahertz imaging.

Melbourn Scientific's chief executive Mark Hammond says the TPI system "provides new insights and will enable us to correlate the release of the active ingredient with the density of thickness of the coating". This increased understanding then allows trouble-free scale up and product optimisation.

Hammond says the technology will open up new opportunities for the company.

"Drugs are getting more engineered, with bi-layers, tri-layers, tablets within tablets, patches, multiple APIs etc. However, increased complexity necessitates a better understanding of the critical quality attributes. The mapping offered by TPI, alongside the more established technologies, will allow us to generate this understanding quickly for our customers."

In addition, Melbourn has passed an FDA audit and is in the middle of a major expansion programme that will double its laboratory space and create dedicated formulation areas.