Catalent Licenses CR Tableting Tech from Sanwa

Catalent Pharma Solutions and Sanwa Kagaku Kenkyusho Co., Ltd. have entered into an exclusive agreement to bring OSDrC, Sanwa’s drug delivery tableting technology, to global markets. Catalent will market OSDrC in all markets outside of Japan, Korea, China (Hong Kong), and Taiwan.

OSDrC is a fully developed, optimized, dose delivery technology that has commercially marketed by Sanwa in Japan. Catalent will utilize its global footprint, modified release delivery expertise, and integrated manufacturing know-how to bring OSDrC to the global market. Catalent plans to commence customer product development trials at its Winchester, KY facility in January, 2012.

OSDrC enables the design of single or multi-core tablets, “with a practically endless variety of core numbers, shapes, sizes, and placement within the tablet,” according to a Catalent statement. This flexible-core capability offers a broad range of controlled release designs for drug formulators, providing the potential for optimal dosing, therapeutic product profiles, and plasma release profiles to meet patient needs in a high quality, one-step manufacturing process. OSDrC technology can produce pulsatile tablets, bi-layer tablets, multi-core tablets, dividable tablets, delayed release tablets, and direct compression orally dissolving tablets “with better quality and release control design than standard tableting technologies,” according to Catalent.

This technology expands Catalent’s capabilities in designing pulsatile targeted drug delivery, immediate and extended release combination tablets, and combination product tablets containing multiple active drugs. OSDrC, along with other recent technology advances at its Winchester, KY and Schorndorf, Germany facilities, is part of an overall growth initiative for Catalent to expand its modified release technology capabilities.

Dr. Ian Muir, president of Catalent’s Modified Release Technologies business, remarked, “We are excited to partner with Sanwa as we continue to expand and innovate our modified release technology solutions and manufacturing capabilities. The addition of OSDrC optimized dose delivery technology will enhance Catalent’s ability to solve our customer’s controlled release formulation challenges, by providing the broadest and highest quality range of drug delivery technologies and scientific expertise in the industry. It is a perfect fit with our existing controlled release, Zydis and Lyopan fast dissolve, and Stick Pack modified release technology platform to enhance our ability to bring more products and better treatments to the market.”

Kazuo Yamamoto, president of Sanwa, commented, “OSDrC technology already has an existing application in the Japanese market. Catalent’s global presence, modified release technology scientific expertise, and integrated manufacturing and packaging services make them the ideal partner for Sanwa as we make this innovative technology available for global customers to improve their products.”