Capsugel & Cardax to Collaborate on Development of Proprietary Products

Capsugel & Cardax to Collaborate on Development of Proprietary Products

Capsugel and Cardax, Inc. recently announced a collaboration to develop unique astaxanthin products for the consumer health market. The goal of the collaboration is to commercialize proprietary formulations of nature-identical synthetic astaxanthin products with pharmaceutical-grade purity that will provide improved oral bioavailability compared with other astaxanthin products on the market. Astaxanthin is currently used as a specialized antioxidant.

The astaxanthin products will be jointly developed using Capsugel’s proprietary lipid multi-particulate (LMP) technology, which encapsulates dissolved or suspended active ingredients into spherical lipid matrix particles for oral dosage in capsules, sachets, suspensions, or tablets. LMP technology utilizes a range of approved lipids to deliver the benefits of lipid-based formulations in multi-particulate format, including improved bioavailability, controlled release, and effective taste-masking. The companies will seek a strategic partner for retail commercialization in the mass market. Specific business terms were not disclosed.

“Our strategic partnership with Cardax provides an opportunity to be at the forefront of developing unique astaxanthin products for consumer health applications,” said Amit Patel, Capsugel SVP and Dosage Form Solutions President. “Our premier bioavailability enhancement technology suite and lipid-based formulation expertise, coupled with our encapsulation know-how and infrastructure, will be leveraged to meet our partners’ product profile and commercial goals of a high-quality final dosage form.”

“Our collaboration with Capsugel provides the formulation expertise and infrastructure necessary for the advancement of proprietary astaxanthin products for consumer health applications,” added David G. Watumull, Cardax President and CEO. “Participation in more of the consumer health value chain as a true partner with Capsugel could add substantially to our revenues, and the new intellectual property anticipated from this collaboration may provide a meaningful competitive advantage.”

Capsugel is a global leader in delivering high-quality, innovative dosage forms and solutions to its customers in the healthcare industry. The company’s Hard Capsule business offers customers the broadest portfolio of gelatin, vegetarian, and other specialized capsule technologies. Capsugel’s Dosage Form Solutions (DFS) business solves customers’ most pressing product development challenges, including bioavailability enhancement, modified release, abuse deterrence, biotherapeutic processing, and inhalation formulation. Capsugel DFS accelerates and improves product development through an array of proprietary technologies, including lipids and liquids, spray-dried dispersions, hot-melt extrusions, and through specialized manufacturing, including FDA/MHRA-accredited finished dosage sites that can handle highly potent, controlled substance, hormonal, and oncology compounds. Headquartered in Morristown, NJ, Capsugel serves more than 4,000 customers in more than 100 countries. For more information, visit www.capsugel.com.

Cardax is a development-stage life sciences company that devotes substantially all of its efforts to developing consumer health and pharmaceutical products that provide many of the anti-inflammatory benefits of steroids or NSAIDS, but with exceptional safety profiles, as conferred by US FDA Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) designation at certain doses. Cardax is preparing proprietary nature-identical products and related derivatives by total synthesis to provide scalable, pure, and economical therapies for diseases in which inflammation and oxidative stress are strongly implicated, including, but not limited to, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, dyslipidemia, metabolic disease, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hepatitis, cognitive decline, macular degeneration, and prostate disease. For more information, visit www.cardaxpharma.com.