Development of orally disintegrating tablets comprising controlled-release multiparticulate beads

Oral Drug Delivery Systems Applied to Launched Products: Value for the Patients and Industrial Considerations

Drug delivery systems (DDS) control the amount, rate, and site of administration of drug substances in the body as well as their release and ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion). Among the various types of DDS, amount-controlled DDS for solubilization and absorption increase the bioavailability. Time- and amount-controlled DDS are controlled release formulations classified as (1) membrane-type, (2) matrix-type, (3) osmotic-type, and (4) ion-exchange type. Timed-release formulations also control the time and amount of release and the absorption of drugs. Site- and amount-controlled DDS are characterized by colonic delivery and intestinal lymph-targeting to improve release and ADME of drug substances. Finally, site-, time-, and amount-controlled DDS are gastroretentive formulations and local delivery in the oral cavity to improve site retention, release, and ADME of drugs. DDS can enhance efficacy, reduce adverse effects, and optimize the dosing frequency of various drug products to increase patient value. This review focuses on patient value and industrial considerations of launched oral DDS. We provide a technological overview of candidate and marketed DDS, as well as the pros/cons of the technologies for industrialization with consideration to excipients, manufacturing, and storage stability. Moreover, to demonstrate the usefulness of the technology and support the selection and development of the best technologies for patients, we also describe patient value from clinical studies and analyses, particularly with regard to increased new medical options, higher efficacy, reduced adverse effects, reduced number of doses and clinic visits, easier administration, higher quality of life, greater adherence, and satisfaction.

Meeting Challenges of Pediatric Drug Delivery: The Potential of Orally Fast Disintegrating Tablets for Infants and Children

A majority of therapeutics are not available as suitable dosage forms for administration to pediatric patients. The first part of this review provides an overview of clinical and technological challenges and opportunities in the development of child-friendly dosage forms such as taste masking, tablet size, flexibility of dose administration, excipient safety and acceptability. In this context, developmental pharmacology, rapid onset of action in pediatric emergency situations, regulatory and socioeconomic aspects are also reviewed and illustrated with clinical case studies. The second part of this work discusses the example of Orally Dispersible Tablets (ODTs) as a child-friendly drug delivery strategy. Inorganic particulate drug carriers can thereby be used as multifunctional excipients offering a potential solution to address unique medical needs in infants and children while maintaining a favorable excipient safety and acceptability profile in these vulnerable patient populations.

Review on Starter Pellets: Inert and Functional Cores

A significant proportion of pharmaceuticals are now considered multiparticulate systems. Modified-release drug delivery formulations can be designed with engineering precision, and patient-centric dosing can be accomplished relatively easily using multi-unit systems. In many cases, Multiple-Unit Pellet Systems (MUPS) are formulated on the basis of a neutral excipient core which may carry the layered drug surrounded also by functional coating. In the present summary, commonly used starter pellets are presented. The manuscript describes the main properties of the various nuclei related to their micro- and macrostructure. In the case of layered pellets formed based on different inert pellet cores, the drug release mechanism can be expected in detail. Finally, the authors would like to prove the industrial significance of inert cores by presenting some of the commercially available formulations.

Designing the formulations in circadian rhythm activity with chronotherapeutic drug delivery system using ramelteon

Ramelteon is an orally sleep promoting agent that is chemically designated as (S)- N- [2-(1,6,7,8-Tetrahydro-2H-indeno-[5,4b] furan-8-yl) ethyl] propionamide and contains one chiral centre. Ramelteon is a neutral compound with no acid or base functional groups, and as such, its aqueous solubility is independent of pH. The activity of Ramelteon at the MT1and MT2 receptors is believed to contribute to its sleep-promoting properties, as these receptors, acted upon by endogenous melatonin, are thought to be involved in the maintenance of the circadian rhythm underlying the normal sleep-wake cycle. These maintenance of circadian rhythm can be well controlled by designing the formulations with chronotherapeutic drug delivery system. This article summarizes to design, develop and evaluate the chronotherapeutic drug delivery system with various approaches using control release polymers like Eudragit RSPO, Hydroxy propyl methyl cellulose (HPMC), Ethyl cellulose etc., the approaches like compression coating technique, pulsatile drug delivery system and coating technique. The main objective of controlling the drug release pattern is to achieve the lag time of 2 hours followed by drug release profile for 4 hours. Also an attempt has been made to conclude on various approaches studied which can be used in the treatment of circadian rhythm using Ramelteon API.

Design of Oral Sustained-Release Pellets by Modeling and Simulation Approach to Improve Compliance for Repurposing Sobrerol

Sobrerol, an oral mucolytic agent, in a recent study showed promise for treating multiple sclerosis. A human equivalent dose of 486 mg of sobrerol administered thrice daily (i.e., 1459 mg of daily dose) demonstrated the highest therapeutic efficacy for repurposing use, which also points out the poor compliance of administration. In this study, oral sustained-release pellets of sobrerol were successfully developed with evaluated manufacturing conditions and drug release kinetics. For design of the target drug product, we used a modeling and simulation approach to establish a predictive model of oral pharmacokinetic profile, by exploring the characteristics and correlations corresponding to the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of sobrerol, such as absorption lag time (0.18 h), time-scaling in vitro–in vivo correlation (t_in-vitro = 0.494 t_in-vivo − 0.0904), gastrointestinal transit time (8 h), minimum effective concentration (1.61 μg/mL), and duration of action (12.8 h). Results showed that the frequency of administration and the daily dose remarkably reduced by 33.3% (i.e., from thrice to twice daily) and 22.8%, respectively, which indicates that this prototype approach can be adopted for rapidly developing a modified-release dosage form of sobrerol, with improvement of compliance of administration and therapeutic efficacy.

Neonatal and pediatric oral drug delivery: Hopes and hurdles

The neonatal and pediatric populations have long been neglected concerning the development of oral dosage forms. For close to two decades, caregivers have had to adjust the doses of the off-label medicines and drugs for adults to suit the neonatal and pediatric needs. This is due to the lack of rules and regulations regarding neonates and pediatrics clinical trials while pharmaceutical industries see this as a non-lucrative approach. Despite such limitations, the administration of solid and liquid dosage forms to neonates and pediatrics necessitates the development of new technologies and even new strategies to meet the needs. Current approaches have not only focused on the development of suitable dosage forms but also the advancement of devices to enhance drug administration to pediatrics and neonates. Though current approaches have significantly added to the number of pediatric and neonatal oral dosage formulations on the market, there is still more room for improvement(s). While novel dosage forms including multiparticulates, orodispersible tablets/films, and chewable tablets have extensively been researched, some administration devices (e.g., nipple shield, pill swallowing cup, and solid dosage pen) have also been explored. Although a few of these products are in the market, the concerted efforts of regulation administrative bodies, pharmaceutical industry settings, and scientists in academia have been oriented to address all issues and advance the neonatal and pediatric-centric pharmaceutical products.

Patient-centered drug delivery and its potential applications for unmet medical needs

Pharmaceutical dosage forms address diverse key components but satisfying unmet patient needs to enhance patient adherence is a major challenge. The desired design of patient-centered drug products should be based on characteristics of various components, such as patients, disease, routes of administration, drug delivery technologies and active pharmaceutical ingredients. Understanding of targeting patients and their physiological and biological environments is pivotal for developing suitable patient-centered drug products. In this review, key components of an ideal drug delivery system were considered. Then, stepwise approaches for designing patient-centered drug products were suggested. Finally, various case studies are also presented and considered to develop models of patient-centered drug products.

Preparation of Controlled-Release Fine Particles Using a Dry Coating Method

Wet coating methods use organic solvents to prepare layered particles that provide controlled-release medications. However, this approach has disadvantages in that it can cause particle agglomeration, reduce pharmaceutical stability, and leave residual organic solvents. We used a dry coating method to overcome these issues. Fine particles (less than 50 μm in diameter) of controlled-release theophylline were created using theophylline (TP; model drug), polyethylene glycol 20,000 (PEG; drug fixative), hydrogenated castor oil (HCO; controlled-release material), hydrogenated rapeseed oil (HRSO; controlled-release material), and cornstarch (CS; core particle). An ultrahigh-speed mixer was employed to mix TP and CS for 5 min at 28,000 rpm. Subsequent addition of PEG produced single-core particles with a drug reservoir coating. Addition of HCO and HRSO to these particles produced a controlled-release layer on their surface, resulting in less than 10% TP dissolution after 8 h. We successfully demonstrated that this dry coating method could be used to coat 16-μm CS particles with a drug reservoir layer and a controlled-release layer, producing multi-layer coated single-core particles that were less than 50 μm in diameter. These can be used to prepare controlled-release tablets, capsules, and orally disintegrating tablets.

Formulation approaches to pediatric oral drug delivery: benefits and limitations of current platforms

Introduction: Most conventional drug delivery systems are not acceptable for pediatric patients as they differ in their developmental status and dosing requirements from other subsets of the population. Technology platforms are required to aid the development of age-appropriate medicines to maximize patient acceptability while maintaining safety, efficacy, accessibility and affordability.

Areas covered: The current approaches and novel developments in the field of age-appropriate drug delivery for pediatric patients are critically discussed including patient-centric formulations, administration devices and packaging systems.

Expert opinion: Despite the incentives provided by recent regulatory modifications and the efforts of formulation scientists, there is still a need for implementation of pharmaceutical technologies that enable the manufacture of licensed age-appropriate formulations. Harmonization of endeavors from regulators, industry and academia by sharing learning associated with data obtained from pediatric investigation plans, product development pathways and scientific projects would be the way forward to speed up bench-to-market age appropriate formulation development. A collaborative approach will benefit not only pediatrics, but other patient populations such as geriatrics would also benefit from an accelerated patient-centric approach to drug delivery.