Capsugel Unveils New Spray-Dried Dispersion Commercial Manufacturing Facility

Capsugel it has completed construction of a new pharmaceutical spray-dried dispersion (SDD) commercial manufacturing facility at its site in Bend, Ore. The completion represents the final phase of a 2-year, $25 million investment to expand Capsugel’s commercial SDD capability at the site. With the expansion complete, Capsugel has the largest integrated pharmaceutical SDD technology capability in North America.

“This investment reflects Capsugel’s strategy to leverage our science- and engineering-based expertise to enable innovative dosage forms that improve the lives of patients and consumers,” said Amit Patel, President, Capsugel Dosage Form Solutions. “Capsugel continues to expand our capacity and capabilities to support a growing pipeline of customer projects from early-stage development all the way through late-stage clinical and commercial manufacture.”

Bend Research, a division of Capsugel Dosage Form Solutions, has a proven 20-year track record with SDD technology and unparalleled experience in formulating more than 1000 compounds. Since acquiring Bend Research, Capsugel has added two commercial-scale spray dryers, bringing the total number of commercial-scale units on its Bend campus to three. This expansion adds to Capsugel’s extensive infrastructure and industry-leading science in pre-clinical and early clinical development to provide an integrated offering for feasibility, development, late-stage clinical and commercial manufacture of spray-dried drug product intermediates. The new units use innovative dryer design and manufacturing plant technology to offer a significantly improved product throughput that minimizes cycle times and maximizes productivity. The newest unit, which is designed to accommodate high-potency compounds, will become fully operational later this year.

“We have taken the R&D competencies on which Bend Research has built its reputation and extended them to commercial manufacture, which is very exciting,” said Jim Nightingale, Managing Director of Bend Research. “With our improved throughput levels, high-potency capabilities, and a commercial facility co-located with R&D, we are positioning ourselves as a partner of choice for pharmaceutical customers. As a result, we are collaborating with customers to advance an ever widening range of promising molecules.”

SDD technology is one of many bioavailability enhancement approaches — including hot-melt-extruded amorphous dispersions, lipid-based formulations and nanoparticle technologies — available at Capsugel to enable the delivery of challenging molecules. Capsugel’s specialized expertise around the world helps customers select from a broad spectrum of development solutions and commercial manufacturing capabilities to find the right solution for their products and improve the delivery of medicines and nutritionals.

Bend Research is Capsugel’s center of excellence for bioavailability enhancement, modified release, other technology platforms and pharmaceutical R&D. The expanded facility, which has already created more than 20 new jobs in the past year, is expected to create an additional 20 full-time positions in the second half of 2015 and is designed to accommodate future capacity additions.