Drug Delivery

Company and People Notes: Evotec and Renovis enter agreement, Amgen to lay off 675 workers, more.

Company and People Notes: Catalent expands Bolton, UK, warehouse; Biotica appoints Edward E. Hodgkin as CEO and director; more.

Company and People Notes: Baxter and Halozyme Expand Relationship, Crucell Names COO, More.

This article investigates how the industry can test inhalers in a way that is most representative of typical use.

This article describes how rapidly disintegrating tablets containing a large quantity of an intensely bitter drug were successfully developed with a suitable level of masking, tablet hardness, disintegration property, dissolution profile and mouth feel.

Irish researchers have developed a method that could be used to deliver controlled amounts of drugs to diseased tissues while minimizing side effects by shining light on the target.

The book comprehensively reviews the basics of drug absorption and methods for delivery enhancement through various routes of administration.

The company begins production at a new $100-million manufacturing facility for prefilled injection systems, plans further investment in packaging facilities, and targets both early-phase development and commercial manufacture.

During the past 30 years, manufacturers developed sophisticated packaging and delivery systems to support the requirements of traditional and complex biologics, including quality and cleanliness. This article discusses the evolution of packaging and delivery systems for injectable administration systems as the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry evolved during the past 30 years. It also explores the future of packaging and delivery systems as technology and drug development advance.

The author reviews advancements in formulation that Pharmaceutical Technology has chronicled during the past 30 years. During this time, many novel solutions were investigated and finally became common and accepted techniques. The author also looks ahead to future developments in formulation and drug delivery methods.

Nanotechnology is emerging as a tool for resolving challenges in delivering poorly water soluble and highly potent drugs.

The racemic compound (R, S)-(±)-ibuprofen is a popular and well understood active pharmaceutical ingredient, but it has several disadvantageous formulation properties such as poor solubility, low melting point, and potential esterification with excipients containing an hydroxyl group. The authors investigate the use of an (R, S)-(±)-ibuprofen salt to evaluate these problems using various analytical methods to determine the polymorphism, crystallinity, and drying scheme.

Cells function as highly accurate quality control (QC) machines to ensure that only correctly folded proteins are released into the physiological milieu to perform their designated functions. The efficient removal of damaged or incorrectly folded/misfolded proteins at the correct time keeps a cell viable and functioning.

There is a tremendous need to enhance delivery of potential therapeutics to the brain for treatment of central nervous system (CNS) disorders. The blood brain barrier (BBB) restricts and controls the exchange of compounds between the CNS and the blood, which requires discovery of new modalities allowing for effective drug delivery to the CNS. Polymer nanotechnology has now become one of the most attractive areas of pharmaceutical research. This review focuses on the current progress in polymeric nanoparticles, where the specific arrangement of the polymeric matter at the nanoscale is utilized to design drug delivery systems that provide safe and efficient transport of CNS drugs across the BBB.

One of the major concerns with introducing PAT, however, is that the bias towards process engineering may not ultimately lead to complete control of product quality.

The authors prepared and tested press-coated tablets with various weight ratios of ethylcellulose to hydroxypropylcellulose (HPC) and various ratios of two different batches of HPC as an outer coating shell and fillers in core tablets. The tablets were examined for changes in time lag and release patterns of salbutamol sulfate.

Hydrogels are biocompatible drug delivery systems by which the physical properties can be controlled by the cross-linking density. Hydrogels were prepared by copolymerization of acrylic acid monomers in the presence of poly(ethylene glycol)(PEG) to form polyethylene diacrylate (PEDGA). Various molecular weights of PEGs were used for the synthesis of PEGDA to study the effect of molecular weight of PEG on the properties of hydrogels. These hydrogels were further characterized for free water, swelling behavior, water diffusion, drug loading, and drug release profile. By analyzing the swelling behavior and release pattern of the hydrogels, the authors show that these systems can be suitably used for controlled delivery of drugs.

Near-infrared (NIR) assay and content uniformity of tablets provide fast, accurate means of monitoring tablet production that are in step with FDA's process analytical technology initiative.The authors discuss the process for testing a newly released NIR tablet analyzer to determine instrument precision and accuracy using chlorpheniramine maleate tablets.The data show promising results that could relieve laboratory workload of high-performance liquid chromatography analysis and bring analysis closer to real time for process monitoring.

There have been significant advances, especially in understanding the role of carrier properties on the aerosol performance of the API.

Buffalo, NY (Mar. 7)-Scientists at the University at Buffalo?s Institute for Lasers, Phtonics, and Biophotonics and Roswell Park Cancer Institute have developed a drug delivery system comprising 100-nm nanocrystals of pure HPPH, (2-devinyl-2-1'-hexyloxyethyl pyropheophorbide).

Contraceptives that are sprayed onto the skin are under development to offer a more convenient alternative method of birth control.

Vancouver, BC, Canada-Researchers from the University of British Columbia are developing a new method for delivering Amphotericin B, a potent antifungal agent for fatal blood-borne fungal infections that currently must be administered intravenously.

The Parenteral Drug Association recently held its first global conference on emerging manufacturing technologies. Among the presentations were those discussing the latest in disposable technologies, aseptic filling and closing, and barrier systems. Clearly, technology vendors have stepped up efforts to streamline processes and better handle complex drug products.

Many companies are coming up with innovative materials and manufacturing methods to feed the growing demand for prefilled syringes.

The book is written for drug-delivery scientists experienced in the dermatological or transdermal fields.

Enschede, Netherlands (Feb. 26)-Scientists from the University of Twente?s MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology have designed a novel delivery system by combining synthetic iron-containing polymers with DNA macromolecules.

London, UK (Feb. 1)?Researchers at the University of London?s School of Pharmacy have chemically modified carbon nanotubes to enable them to enter human cancer cells.

Terpenes are widely used in topical preparations. This paper focuses on the skin penetration of terpenes depending on their physicochemical properties and influence of the type of dermatological vehicle that was used. The structure of human skin and the skin penetration process is also briefly described.

Following the sales of its global branded pharmaceutical business, 3M stays the course in drug delivery as its Drug Delivery Systems Division advances technology in inhalation and transdermal drug delivery.

Nanoparticulate drug carriers include a class of particles made of polymers or lipids that - because of their size and chemical composition -permit systemic and local treatment.