Capsugel Expands Inhalation Product Development Capabilities

March 30, 2017

Capsugel has announced the expansion of its late-stage inhalation capabilities to advance dry powder inhalation (DPI) concepts through late-stage clinical trial and commercial production.

The company has completed installation and validation of a new Harro Hӧfliger Modu-C MS encapsulation unit at its Bend, Oregon facility that includes specialized drum-dosing technology for use in DPI development projects utilizing spray-dry processing. The investment strengthens Capsugel’s full-service inhalation product-development capabilities, which include proprietary spray-dry processing, specialized CMC/analytical services, and encapsulation capacity to support development, clinical trial and commercial scale projects.

“Drug delivery via the lung is becoming an increasingly viable treatment option for a wide range of therapeutic areas, including infectious diseases, genetic disorders and acute systemic conditions that have traditionally been treated via other delivery routes,” said Devon DuBose, Head of Inhalation Product Development at Capsugel’s Bend, Ore. facility. “Spray-dry processing is finding greater utilization in DPI applications because of its superior particle size control, higher drug loading and fewer formulation dependencies compared to traditional lactose blend formulations."

Capsugel’s new Harro Hӧfliger Modu-C MS encapsulation unit includes an operational capacity of more than 72,000 capsules per hour. The premier technology provides 100 percent monitoring of dosed powder mass, fill weight ranges between 5mg and 50mg, and dose accuracy of RSD<3%. The unit complements Capsugel’s Xcelodose® 600S equipment that supports capsule filling for Phase 1 and Phase 2 trials. Capsugel’s capabilities for DPI formulations include spray drying for all clinical phases and commercial manufacturing, formulation development and scale-up expertise, phase-appropriate encapsulation and full aerosol analytical capabilities in development and GMP.