Catalent Partners with Bridge Therapeutics for Opioid Addiction Treatment

Catalent announced on Dec. 10, 2019 that it is collaborating with Bridge Therapeutics, a late-development-stage specialty pharmaceutical company based in Birmingham, AL, for the formulation, development, and production of a new opioid addiction treatment.

According to a Catalent press release, Catalent recently completed the clinical production of Bridge’s opioid addiction development therapeutic product and investigational new drug, BT-219, which will be used with Catalent’s Zydis orally disintegrating tablet technology. BT-219 will apply the Zydis delivery technology to buprenorphine and naloxone, which are the active ingredients in the Suboxone prescription medication for opioid addiction.

“Catalent has a proven track record in working with partners to bring new therapies to market quickly and we look forward to working with Bridge as they pursue approval for this important and exciting new development product,” said Jonathan Arnold, president of Catalent’s Oral and Specialty Delivery business unit, in the press release. “The Zydis technology platform has been shown to be very versatile and effective in developing easy-to-administer dose forms for innovators and to date, more than 36 products have been launched using Zydis technology in over 60 countries.”

“This new formulation will provide improved administration characteristics. With many formulations being unpleasant to patients, this fast-dispersing Zydis formulation could potentially increase compliance with Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) and thus better clinical outcomes,” added Dr. Greg Sullivan, chief medical officer at Bridge Therapeutics, in the press release. “In addition to assisting the needs of the general population, utilizing the Zydis formulation technology lessens the chance of an institutionalized patient being able to divert the medication for untoward purposes.”

Source: Catalent