Romaco and CRO Ankur complete Siebler StripTab line
StripTabs are micrometer thick starch film “tablets” designed to carry up to 25mg of an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) for delivery through the inner lining of the mouth.
Their thinness, which Romaco claims allows for absorption rates comparable to injection, was a significant factor in development of the manufacturing new line according to group marketing director, Egbert Heid.
Heid told Outsourcing-pharma that: “The product behaves like a wing of a butterfly and reacts with humidity, so handling must be carried out very smoothly. That was one of the biggest challenges.”
He added that, while the line was developed in collaboration with Ankur, the technology is owned by Romaco and will be available to other pharma firms and contract manufacturing organisations (CMO).
In terms of the collaboration with Ankur the next step in the project is to install the Siebler StripTabs line, which combines Romaco’s FrymaKoruma, Siebler and Promatic brands, at one of Indian firm’s manufacturing facilities.
Heid explained that: “The original plan was to install it at [Ankur’s facility] in Baddi North East India; however, there is a chance that the line will be installed in another plant.”
In a press statement Ankur chairman Pumandu Jain, set out the reason for investing in the technology, explaining that: “Our customers are very interested in taking the user-friendly film tablets.”
Jain also stressed the benefits of film strip tablets for drug delivery, suggesting that: “This innovative pharmaceutical dosage form has the potential to dramatically change and expand the landscape of traditional dosage forms.”
This fits with Romaco’s hopes for the StripTab technology. According to Heid while at present there are no ethical drugs that use the technology for drug delivery, “we expect some pharmaceutical products to enter the market in the second half of this year.”
