Hovione extends drug delivery alliance
to develop improved formulations of drugs that have lost or will
soon lose patent protection.
A contract manufacturer and supplier of active pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediates, Hovione has been manufacturing the compound underpinning CyDex' Captisol technology (sulfobutylether substituted beta cyclodextrin), used to improve the bioavailability, dissolution and stability of poorly soluble APIs.
The new collaboration will initially cover the development of six Captisol-improved drugs, although the companies have not revealed the identity of the agents for competitive reasons.
Captisol is already in use in two prescription products developed and marketed by Pfizer in the US and Europe, namely the antifungal Vfend (voriconazole) and the antipsychotic Geodon (ziprasidone). The technology works by forming complexes with water-insoluble drugs, making them water-soluble, and can be used in oral, inhaled and injectable formulations.
