Foster Delivery Science Receives Grant to Develop Process for Oral Dose Drug Delivery


Foster Delivery Science recently announced it has been awarded a Manufacturer’s Technical Assistance Program (MTAP) grant from the University of Connecticut for development of novel processes to improve manufacturability and absorption of poorly water-soluble drugs in the body. MTAP is part of an investment by the state of Connecticut in the University Technology Park aimed at supporting manufacturing innovation in the state.

Many newly discovered pharmaceutical ingredients are poorly water soluble and result in low absorption rates in the body. Foster’s hot melt extrusion technology enhances bioavailability through melt dispersion of active pharmaceutical ingredients in a polymer matrix. The resulting drug/polymer matrix is then ground into powder form and pressed into tablets.

Foster and University of Connecticut will collaborate to develop continuous injection molding of the tablets from the drug/polymer matrix form, eliminating the powder grinding process. In addition, Foster and University of Connecticut intend to explore foaming technology to reduce density and increase porosity of the molded tablets in an effort to further enhance the body’s absorption of drugs.

“Roughly half of the new drugs discovered are poorly soluble and require special processing, such as hot melt extrusion, for drug delivery dose forms,” said Tony Listro, Managing Director at Foster Delivery Science. “By combining our expertise in hot melt extrusion and the polymer processing resources at University of Connecticut, we believe we can make meaningful advancements in manufacturing and performance of formulations involving poorly water-soluble drugs.”

Foster Delivery Science specializes in hot melt extrusion of drugs and polymer for pharmaceutical and combination drug-device applications. Foster Delivery Science is a wholly owned business unit of Foster Corporation, a leader in custom biomedical polymers for minimally invasive devices, implants, combination products, and pharmaceutical drug delivery. For more information visit www.deliveryscience.com.