Evonik Degussa Provides Pharmaceutical Melt Extrusion Technology Services


Evonik Degussa Corporation recently announced the purchase of a Leistritz Nano 16-mm (TSE) Twin Screw Extruder to serve the growing number of customers using pharmaceutical melt extrusion technology. Installed at the Evonik Pharma Polymers Technical Lab in Piscataway, NJ, the new extruder is equipped with a micro-plunger feeding system and precision T-12 K-Tron top feeder. The TSE tackles solubility and bioavailability issues of poorly soluble drug substances, taste-masking, controlled/sustained release, and continuous manufacturing applications. Â

Twin screw extruders have become the industry standard in the manufacture of pharmaceutical products from feasibility to commercial scale.

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“At early stages of melt extrusion formulation development of new molecular entities with limited drug availability, it is essential to use extrusion equipment for the smallest batch size,” said Dr. Firouz Asgarzadeh, Senior Technical Manager of Pharma Polymers business line. “The current set allows 30 g to several kg pharmaceutical in melt extrusion batch manufacturing.”

Evonik Pharma Polymers, a business line of Evonik Degussa Corporation, manufactures EUDRAGIT® acrylic functional polymers, used for immediate-release, enteric, sustained-release, taste-masking, and protective formulations.

Throughout the past 12 years, Evonik has built a network of global centers of excellence for pharmaceutical melt extrusion and spray-drying to help customers develop formulations for poorly soluble drugs via MemFis (Melt Extrusion Modeling & Formulation Information System), lab trials, and cGMP clinical supplies. Evonik Pharma Polymers provides full formulation development services for melt extrusion of drug substances with appropriate (EUDRAGIT or Non-EUDRAGIT) polymers.

“The market trend is to make molecular entity drugs more bioavailable,” said Yann d’Herve, Business Director North America of Pharma Polymers business line. “This latest addition to our state-of-the-art lab provides pharmaceutical formulators access to the latest new platform technology and a means to develop pharmaceutical melt extrusion formulations to bring drugs to the marketplace in a faster and more cost efficient way.”

Evonik is the creative industrial group from Germany. In its core business of specialty chemicals, it is a global leader. In addition, it has energy and residential real estate operations, and its performance is shaped by creativity, specialization, reliability, and continuous self-renewal. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world.