ISP Pharmaceuticals is forming an alliance with Coperion GmbH (Stuttgart, Germany) with the goal of advancing hot melt extrusion (HME) technology for the pharmaceutical market. ISP will bring its expertise in ingredient technology such as polymers and disintegrants, its experience in formulating and background in material science to the alliance. Coperion will provide equipment for testing and its experience with the physical systems that are used in extrusion.
Hot melt extrusion technology has its origins in the plastic and food industries, where it has become commonplace because it offers excellent control of process variables. It features combinations of drugs, polymers, and plasticizers into various final forms to achieve designated drug-release profiles. Individual components are mixed and then processed in a controlled environment of temperature and shear within the extruder, to create the final material. HME is a viable method to prepare granules, sustained release tablets, and transdermal and transmucosal drug delivery systems. Benefits from the HME approach include fewer processing steps, no requirements on the compressibility of the drug actives, more uniform dispersion of the drug particles and improved bioavailability of poorly soluble drug actives.
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