CPHI NEWS: Ashland launches two excipients to aid formulation and solubility

Published: 25-Oct-2013

Directly compressible Benecel DC HPMC brings process innovation to tablet formulators while AquaSolve HPMCAS expands broad cellulosics and PVP excipients range


In today’s environment, when pharma companies must get products to market faster and work hard to reduce costs, Ashland says its newly launched range of directly compressible Benecel DC hypromellose (HPMC) delivers innovation and efficiency in the tablet-making process to formulators without compromising the performance of the final product.

Due to fierce competition and the expansion into emerging markets, oral-dosage formulators are seeking tablet ingredients to deliver both the desired tablet functionalities and production efficiencies.

Typically, to manufacture a controlled release tablet, the ingredients powder must first be granulated to be compressed into the solid-dosage form. With Benecel DC HPMC controlled-release matrix former, the ingredients mix can be directly compressed into the tablet.

'Benecel DC HPMC makes several steps in the manufacturing process obsolete, saving time and money for our customers,' said Deneen Law, senior marketing manager, Ashland Pharmaceutical Specialties. 'The advantages of Ashland’s Benecel DC HPMC are improved flow and compressibility. Previous generations of directly compressible HPMC struggled with a lack of content uniformity. When the powder mix was compressed into tablets, some tablets may have contained more product than others in the same batch,' she explained.

'Benecel DC HMPC increases the content uniformity of the tablet, and provides greater compression of the ingredient mix. Extensive laboratory and beta-site tests show that Benecel DC HPMC’s flow and compressibility properties surpass those of other similar directly compressible products in the market.'

'Benecel DC HMPC, combined with the experience of Ashland’s technical and service support teams, our industry knowledge and our diverse portfolio of chemistries, gives our customers the flexibility to quickly design custom products to address the needs of challenging controlled-release formulations,' added Jeff Wolff, group vice president, Pharmaceutical and Nutrition Specialties, Ashland Specialty Ingredients.

The second product to be launched by Ashland is AquaSolve HPMCAS (hypromellose acetate succinate), which joins the company's broad cellulosics and PVP range.

AquaSolve HPMCAS was initially developed for enteric film coatings to provide gastric resistance. More recently, it has been explored in solid solutions prepared by hot-melt extrusion and spray drying, which significantly improves the solubility of APIs.

'AquaSolve HPMCAS represents the latest advancement in solubilisation solutions from Ashland,' said John Carney, global sales director, Ashland Pharmaceutical Specialties. 'Going forward, we will be developing new products to meet our customers’ evolving needs, such as tailored molecules ideally suited to specific candidate APIs.'

Ashland’s strength lies in its broad solubilisation portfolio in both the cellulose and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) families. 'Many companies specialise and have strong offerings in either cellulosics or PVP products,' explained John Fitzpatrick, new product leader, Ashland Pharmaceutical Specialties. 'But Ashland can offer both.

'We have expertise in formulating with both families of polymers; thus we can enable our customers to find the best of all possible solutions in either area. We can partner with formulators to help them evaluate the applicability of the broadest range of compounds and solid dispersion processes.'

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