Hovione links up with Ligand in Captisol agreement
Captisol improves the solubility and stability of drugs
Hovione, a Portuguese manufacturer of active pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediates, has announced a co-promotion and collaboration agreement with US biopharmaceutical firm Ligand to provide access to Captisol technology.
Captisol, a chemically modified cyclodextrin, improves the solubility and stability of drugs and is currently used in six marketed products, including Onyx Pharmaceuticals’ Kyprolis, Baxter International's Nexterone and Pfizer's Vfend IV.
The agreement allows Hovione to use Captisol technology in its solubilisation programmes, which include amorphous solid dispersions, crystal design and size reduction and control of particle size.
‘Hovione is delighted to announce the ability to provide access to Captisol. There is no single solution to improving bioavailability and for a customer to access diverse options with a single supplier provides for greater probability of success and speedier outcomes,’ said Colin Minchom, Hovione’s Vice President of Particle Design.
‘Hovione has manufactured Captisol for more than a decade, and we are very pleased to expand our partnership to help customers succeed.
Providing for greater access to Captisol should efficiently enable the successful development of more poorly soluble molecules and further increase our Captisol partnership portfolio,’ added Mathew Foehr, Ligand’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.
Captisol was invented and initially developed by scientists at the University of Kansas' Higuchi Biosciences Centre for specific use in drug development and formulation. There are currently more than 30 Captisol-enabled products in development, including Lundbeck’s carbamazepine IV, The Medicines Company's MDCO-157 and Rib-X's delafloxacin IV programme.
