Two new coatings solutions simplify tablet preparation, improve palatability

Colorcon (Harleysville, PA), a supplier of coatings and excipients for tablets, has introduced two new products, Opadry CA and Opamix, which the company says will replace existing solutions and offer benefits for both manufacturers and patients. The products will be on display at the annual Am. Assn. of Pharmaceutical Scientists meeting (Chicago, Oct. 14-18), also at this week's CPhI meeting in Madrid.

Opadry CA is a fully-formulated, semipermeable coating for osmotic pump tablets, which provide drug release at a constant rate over an extended period of time (as long as 8-12 hours). The first of its kind, the new single-component coating will help lower manufacturing time, saving at least two hours in reduced preparation and coating process time, according to the company. Fewer components involved in the coating process also will translate into lower quality control testing and documentation costs.

Opamix is a pre-formulated additive blend designed for use with BASF Corp.’s Kollicoat Smartseal 30 D, an aqueous dispersion comprising a taste-masking polymer. “Together, they form a complete coating dispersion that is easily prepared and can be readily coated onto tablets or multiparticulates to provide excellent taste-masking performance,” explains Kamlesh Oza, general manager of film coatings for Colorcon.

Like Opadry CA, Opamix is expected to reduce manufacture time (by 40%, according to the company) and lower quality control and documentation costs, due to fewer raw materials needed in production. While masking mildly bad taste may be mitigated by existing coating technologies, Oza says the Opamix/Smartseal combination was developed to be “the preferred option for coatings with superior taste-masking functionality, owing to its demonstrated efficacy, ease of use and stability.” Opamix formulae are available in clear or pigmented versions and can be color-matched by Colorcon.