EUDRACAP Functional, ready-to-fill capsules

In this series of interviews, we speak to the teams behind the winning concepts at CPHI Pharma Awards 2022, which was held at CPHI Frankfurt, across the categories from digital innovation to CEO of the year. 

Video introduction to Evonik Healthcare, a global development partner and enabling solutions provider.

Evonik is working with Stanford University on a technology to deliver mRNA to tissues and organs that goes beyond the capabilities of lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). This polymer-based platform complements Evonik’s existing portfolio of lipid-based drug delivery, including LNPs.

EUDRAGIT® polymers have been used as coatings to create more effective drugs for 70 years.

Evonik offers an innovative green technology that enables the large-scale synthesis of active pharmaceutical ingredients in water. This technology has the potential to significantly reduce the environmental footprint of drug manufacturing by minimizing the need for large volumes of solvent and helping to simplify processes.

Evonik is collaborating with KNAUER Wissenschaftliche Geräte GmbH, a manufacturer of scientific instruments, to improve the upscaling of LNP formulations.

Evonik has officially opened a new facility for drying aqueous dispersions of EUDRAGIT® polymers at its site in Darmstadt.

PhytoSquene® is the world’s first GMP-quality, plant-derived squalene. It offers a sustainable and high-quality alternative to traditional shark-derived squalene, meeting the need for sustainably sourced pharmaceutical-grade squalene. The key drivers behind its development are sustainability, safety, regulatory compliance and social responsibility. Extracting squalene from shark livers for use in parenteral pharmaceutical applications such as vaccines depletes shark populations, which impacts marine biodiversity. PhytoSquene® supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of protecting ecosystems and promoting circularity, while also mitigating risks associated with bioaccumulative toxins found in animal sources, and ensuring batch-to-batch consistency and superior quality in compliance with European Pharmacopoeia standards. Made from amaranth oil and manufactured in Germany using proprietary technology, PhytoSquene® not only advances patient safety and acceptance, but also demonstrates Evonik’s commitment to next-generation solutions with a positive sustainability profile. PhytoSquene® provides vaccine manufacturers and patients peace of mind while protecting marine ecosystems.

Developing a delayed release formulation of acid-sensitive actives that can be used in solid dosage forms such as tablets, pellets and capsules can be costly. Usually several stages are involved starting from R&D development to scale up and validation steps, all of which require significant investment of time and money. Sourcing a ready-to-fill functional capsule is an effective way of saving costs, reducing time to market, and boosting the performance of oral drug delivery products. EUDRACAP is our recently launched non-animal-derived platform of functional, ready-to-fill capsules for fast-track development of sensitive drugs.