Directly compressible medicated chewing gum bases from Cafosa

Published: 20-Jan-2012

Developing medicated chewing gum products is now within the reach of pharmaceutical companies


With a decreasing line-up of new molecules and patents expiring in the global pharmaceutical industry, a fierce competitive landscape has set up with an increasing predominance of generics and reduced potential revenues for companies.

In this scenario new ways of differentiation are essential for companies to remain competitive. New drug delivery systems are one of them, and are gaining more importance today since they will promote more effective and convenient medicines for consumers in the future.

Medicated chewing gum is a drug delivery system consisting of an active ingredient incorporated into a chewing gum to be released by the mechanical action of chewing.

Added to the consolidated and growing success of nicotine gums, today developing new medicated chewing gum products is easier than before and within the reach of pharmaceutical companies because a new excipient has been specially developed for such a purpose. The launch of the Health in Gum (directly compressible powder gum) range of products in 2009 by world leading gum base supplier CAFOSA has initiated growing interest from the pharmaceutical world. Health in Gum is a co-processed chewing gum powder excipient containing mixture of gum base, polyols, plasticizers and anticaking agents. It has low moisture and does not require heat, allowing dry powder mixing of the formula.

It adapts to direct compression equipment, which is standard for pharma companies, and it does not require any extras in the production facility, making formulation and production of medicated chewing gum a reality.

Medicated chewing gum offers several advantages that add value to a medicine: the benefits of chewing, fast onset of action, oral and digestive absorption, no need for water or swallowing and generally a much more compliant dosage form given its optimal sensorial properties. There are already some promising studies made with Health in Gum in fields such as allergy, cough and cold, analgesics, weight management, probiotics etc. This new drug delivery system will surely bring to market new innovative products and line extensions of existing ones to differentiate from upcoming generics in the next years.

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