Bend Research receives polymer additives patent
According to the patent, a solubility-improved drug form is combined with a concentration-enhancing polymer additive, resulting in a “substantially enhanced drug concentration” with increased bioavailability.
Bend says in contrast, low-solubility drugs often show poor bioavailbility or irregular absorption in patients.
The company claims there is a growing need for this kind of technology as more than 40 per cent of drugs in development have low aqueous solubility. Bend says use of polymer additives means patients will require lower dosages.
“Pharmaceutical industry leaders acknowledge that discovering and bringing these new compounds forward is very complicated,” said Bend Research president and CEO, Rod Ray, “and Bend Research scientists and engineers are well known for providing key assistance to leading pharmaceutical companies facing this challenge.”
Drug forms
Bend’s patent covers the use of additive polymers in a number of different drug forms, including nanoparticles, absorbed drugs, drugs in nanosuspensions, supercooled drug melts, gelatine dosage forms and soft gelatine dosage forms.
According to Bend, these drug forms dissolve rapidly in the gastro-intestinal tract before being properly absorbed, but by blending them with a solubility-enhancing polymer high drug concentrations can be sustained through the inhibition of “crystallisation or precipitation of the drug to a lower-solubility form.”
Patents
The new patent, claims Bend, is one of a growing number of formulation and process-related patents associated with its solubility-enhancing drug-formulation technologies. The solubilisation technologies focus on enhancing the concentration of drugs in a patient’s bloodstream to enable faster drug dissolution.
“This technology is on target with our mission of advancing our clients’ best new medicines,” explained Ray.
“It provides one more way we can help our customers provide novel therapies to treat illnesses that desperately need new approaches.”
