Evonik launches ready-to-fill capsules for high-performance drug development

Evonik has launched the EUDRACAP platform of easy-to-handle capsules to help the pharmaceutical industry accelerate speed to market for complex oral drug products in early development stages.

EUDRACAP enteric is the first product of the platform to become commercially available. This enteric coated pre-locked capsule gives pharmaceutical companies access to a capsule that can optimise gastric resistance, boost intestinal absorption and enhance bioavailability.

Healthcare Solutions

EUDRACAP is Evonik’s latest system solution built on the company’s unique technology platform for advanced drug delivery. “With the help of EUDRACAP, we expect strong growth within our innovation growth field Healthcare Solutions,” says Paul Spencer, head of product line Drug Delivery & Medical Device Solutions at Evonik’s Health Care business line. “EUDRACAP will foster our position as a fully integrated CDMO along the entire pharmaceutical value chain.”

The new EUDRACAP platform leverages Evonik’s established EUDRAGIT functional coatings to optimise the release profile of oral drug products. The coated HPMC (hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose) capsules are particularly suited to protect sensitive active pharmaceutical ingredients from moisture and gastric acid.

Sensitive molecules

Oral drugs are being developed rapidly and there is new emphasis on those using mRNA or targeting the microbiome. This has created a great demand in the pharmaceutical industry for ways to increase the number of sensitive molecules in drug product portfolios.

“EUDRACAP is our answer to many of the challenges innovators in the pharmaceutical industry are facing when pioneering oral drug products,” says Dr Axel Schröder, head of Global Business Segment Oral Drug Delivery Solutions at Evonik Health Care.

In addition to EUDRACAP enteric, the EUDRACAP Select line provides tailor-made CDMO (Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization) services for customer requirements including a range of sizes, colours, and customised release profiles.

“We can help reduce risk and get the finished dosage form in the hands of our customers for clinical and commercial use as fast as possible,” says Dr Bettina Hölzer, senior project manager Strategic Marketing Oral Drug Delivery Solutions at Evonik Health Care. With EUDRACAP™, customers can tap into Evonik’s expertise across application areas such as colonic delivery, microbiome delivery, personalised dosage forms and bioavailability enhancement.

EUDRACAP is the latest in a portfolio of product innovations launched by Evonik’s Health Care business over the past few years. In 2020, Evonik began marketing EUDRATEC Fasteric, an advanced oral drug delivery technology that provides enteric protection followed by rapid, homogeneous release for effective targeting of the upper small intestine.

Evonik Health Care, which is part of the Nutrition & Care division of Evonik, is one of the world’s leading CDMOs for complex oral and parenteral drug products that require advanced drug delivery solutions. It is also one of the world’s largest suppliers of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), amino acids, cell culture ingredients, medical device excipients and leading global CMO (Contract Manufacturing Organization) for APIs and intermediates.