- Piramal Pharma Solutions continues to lead its advanced dosage form expertise by successfully developing and commercializing a tablet-in-capsule product across its integrated drug product sites in Pithampur and Ahmedabad, India.
- The project involved seamless technology transfer and close collaboration between both site teams, highlighting the strength of Piramal’s integrated capabilities.
- By implementing tablet-in-capsule capabilities, Piramal reinforces its commitment to Patient Centricity.
Piramal Pharma Solutions, a leading global Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) and part of Piramal Pharma Ltd. (NSE: PPLPHARMA | BSE: 543635), is pleased to announce the successful development, scale-up, and commercialization of a tablet-in-capsule drug delivery system at its drug product facilities in Pithampur and Ahmedabad, India. With expanded tablet-in-capsule capabilities now in its toolkit, Piramal can offer partners and patients more flexible and customizable dosing options for critical oral drug therapies, including modified release drug delivery.
The project was initiated at the Piramal Pharmaceutical Development Services (PPDS) site in Ahmedabad. Within just five months, the site team completed a successful tech transfer to Piramal’s commercial manufacturing site in Pithampur inclusive of development of the three tablets to be encapsulated.
Piramal’s extensive experience with integrated programs was essential to this project’s success. The tech transfer teams at Ahmedabad and Pithampur supported a seamless transition throughout development and scale-up, while integrated program managers ensured any obstacles to timing were overcome. Collaboration among quality control and validation teams at both sites guaranteed the product’s safety and efficacy, ultimately helping deliver an innovative therapy to patients in need.
Traditional capsules contain a mixture of active pharmaceutical ingredient(s) (API) and excipients in a two-piece hard shell, typically in bead, pellet, or powder form. While these capsules offer fast absorption and ease of use, they often limit patient dosing flexibility and control, making them less suitable for therapies with complex delivery mechanisms.
Tablet-in-capsule technology offers developers a unique solution wherein different active ingredients are formulated into their own separate tablets or minitablets. The tablets are then placed together into a single capsule shell. By applying distinct coatings to minitablets, drug developers can achieve versatile release profiles of the same or different drugs. This approach also allows incompatible active ingredients to be combined into one capsule, providing patients a simplified way to limit dosing frequency and improve medication adherence.
“By enabling dual actives in the same capsule or dual-release profiles within a single capsule, our tablet-in-capsule technology provides unmatched dosing flexibility and release control, accelerating timelines for developers and simplifying dosing for patients,” said Brad Gold, Ph.D., Head of Global Formulations R&D at Piramal Pharma Solutions and Member of Piramal’s Science Collective. “Because each drug is optimized in its own tablet or minitablet, this technology can also enhance formulation stability and medicine personalization.”
Tablet-in-capsule technology has transformed the way the pharmaceutical industry has tailored drug product development toward meeting patient needs. By incorporating this approach into its formulation offering, Piramal further demonstrates its commitment to patient-centric solutions.
