Using its Applied Drug Delivery Institute – launched at last week’s AAPS in Chicago – the firm plans to share information from its technology platforms with both industry and academia in a bid to drive more innovation for the field.
When asked if Catalent has concerns about sharing information with competitors, CTO Kurt Nielsen said the firm is not worried.
“The fundamental point for the institute is that we make basic information available, and ultimately companies compete on their ability to execute and to meet unmet needs in the marketplace,” he said.
During a press conference, VP of scientific affairs Rao Tatapudy said existing partners such as BASF and Bend Research will be obvious collaborators over the new programme, but that the firm will work with a host of other companies.
However Nielsen said for the time being, establishing strong links with academic organisations will be the main goal.
He said: “We want to make sure that ultimately ideas which may otherwise never see the light of day do get evaluated, and I think that’s where the innovation is going to come from.”
Regulatory change
Speaking to Outsourcing-Pharma.com, VP of corporate development and strategy Cornell Stamoran told us that regulatory change is also a key concern for the institute.
He said: “We see opportunities for the drug delivery side of the industry to act in concert on regulatory guidance as pharma companies do with pharma or biotech does with bio.”