Rhodia provides process and handling updates

Rhodia was present at this year's CPhI, alerting the industry to its latest product updates, spawned out of the market demand to provide products that allow its customers to better address process and handling requirements.

The global chemicals company said that it had made two new developments on its paracetamol and granular salycilic grades through "significant improvement of their physical properties."

RHODAPAP DC90, part of its direct compressible line of paracetamol and manufactured in its Chinese plant, now has the ability to compress without the need for pre-compression, as well as better hardness and lower friability, said the firm.

Rhodia also said that improvements to its granular salicylic acid grade now allow it to offer "enhanced flowability, reduced dusting, improved product handling and safety, reduction of foaming during mixing and reduced cross contamination."

This salycilic acid, manufactured at the company's Brazillian plant, "offers remarkable benefits compared to other commercially available brands on the market," the company said.

Rhodia also announced the implementation of a new process technology in its UK plant for the manufacture of 1,1-biphosphonate drugs, which are commonly used to treat bone disorders.

"The process is faster and more selective, enabling more reliable and cost-effective batch production," Ranbir Padda, research and development manager of Rhodia told In-PharmaTechnologist.com.

"The manufacture of phosphines is potentially hazardous and this new process also provides greater customer safety."

The new technology is applicable to the manufacture of materials such as alendronate, risedronate and zoledronate.

"Phosphorus chemistry is our specialty and we offer our customers joint development expertise and the possibility to outsource all their specialist phosphorus chemistry needs and so we will continue to develop new phosphorus based solutions at both commercial and lab scale quantities," said Rhodia spokesperson Mike Harrision.

Rhodia said it has also developed a new process technology that has allowed it to introduce a new phosphine ligand to its product portfolio - tetra-t-butyldiphosphinoxylene (TBDPX) - a ligand typically used in carbonylation reactions.

"This ligand has many potential applications in pharmaceutical synthesis," said the firm.