StarTab is Colorcon's third starch-based excipient as the company already markets StarCap 1500 and Starch 1500. However, StarTab was designed especially for the direct compression process.
According to the company, StarTab’s particle size and shape offers “extremely fast flow and an excellent compressibility”, advantages that enable high-speed tableting.
“Starch 1500, Colorcon’s legacy starch product generally requires the addition of other tableting excipients so the formulation can be more complex,” a spokesperson from Colorcon told us.
By comparison, “StarTab simplifies formulation, as it reduces the number of excipients and avoids the use of superdisintegrant.”
StarTab is also expected to enhance the stability of moisture sensitive active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), while its material is accepted by regulatory bodies across the world, according to Colorcon’s CSO, Ali Rajabi-Siahboomi.
Prior to launch, the company had presented the product to select customers around the world and “early adoption is being seen with commercial orders already placed”, according to the spokesperson.
Recently, the company added Aquacoat extended release technology to its portfolio, by expanding a controlled release alliance agreement with DuPont.