The technology is based on tiny spheres, Stealth Beadlets (SB), which can be added to drug formulations to stop people from illegally extracting narcotic active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) by crushing, solubilizing or heating the tablets.
Aesica told in-Pharmatechnologist.com that in tests the amount of narcotic API that could be extracted from pills containing beadlets was used was two to three times lower than from tablets that used other anti-abuse technologies.
The UK contract manufacturing organisation (CMO) explained that no reformulation is necessary to use the QRxPharma tech and added that: “There is certainly no effect on shelf-life as the API is not 'involved' in the new formulation.”
The firm added that it has not had to make any additional capital investment to use the Stealth Beadlets as “It uses standard manufacturing techniques. There is no need for new equipment.”
Non-exclusive
Under the non-exclusive deal Aesica – specifically its Aesica Formulation Development subsidiary - will promote QRxPharma's technology for inclusion in clients' existing formulations of controlled drugs.
To do this Aesica will enter into fee-for-service contracts with third parties for the development of the new Abuse Deterrent Formulations (ADF) of specific drugs of interest, while QRxPharma will negotiate license terms directly with each party.
We asked Aesica why it had not established an exclusive licensing deal and the CMO said that: “The steal beadlets are seen to be very attractive and QRxPharma hesitate to just have one exclusive licensee.”
Another CMO that already has experience of the SB tech is Canada’s Patheon, which QRxPharma contracted to produce trial supplies of the drug MoxDuo CR – for which the anti-abuse beadlets were developed – in 2009.