Formulating for efficiency

The blend of excipients in a formulation can significantly affect the performance active ingredients, and until now only expensive testing could find the right mix. However, a new modelling technique from ICI company Uniqema now promises better formulation, dramatic improvements in efficacy and major cost savings.

Whether it is in cosmetics or pharmaceuticals, formulation is everything, and excipients play a major role in determining the efficacy of any given pharmaceutical product. Producing formulations for testing can be expensive and limited, so it is apparent that some formulations reaching the market have not been optimised.

Recognising this, excipient specialist Uniqema has been working to develop a method of modelling the performance of different formulations more accurately, to remove the need for costly production of test products. Its solution, which has already been shown to be effective in the cosmetic market, is now being targeted at major pharmaceutical companies with the promise of major cost savings.

‘We are working on a way to deliver actives in a more efficient way. We call it formulating for efficiency,’ says Andrew Girdharry, Uniqema’s director of sales and marketing. ‘We are cosmetics specialists, so we know about delivery mechanisms and how to get substances to act on the top or middle layers of the skin, or to pass through. Now we have models to show that – without expensive testing – we can find the best combination of excipients to deliver the active ingredient in the desired way,’ he continues.

Though relatively young, Uniqema has far more history to call upon in this area than may be apparent. It is the result of a merger between four businesses, each of which brought unique expertise to the table. In the late 1990s, ICI Surfactants merged with Unichema – formerly the chemical business of Unilever – and the resulting entity also brought in sun care specialist Solaveil and Mona Industries.

Built around core experience from ICI, one of the components of Uniqema has been in existence since 1900. This means the firm has experience of the long-term trends in both pharmaceuticals and cosmetics, and that is has a tradition of leading the market in specific areas of chemistry.

Optimisation made simple

Having observed the effect of its modelling technique in the cosmetics market, Uniqema is confident that it can produce similarly striking results for customers in the pharmaceutical industry. ‘For some actives in some formulations on the cosmetics side, we have been able to increase the effect of the active ingredient by five or six times,’ says Girdharry. ‘If it is a really bad formulation, then it could be ten of 15 times.’

To prove the feasibility of its formulation model to the major pharma companies it is targeting, Uniqema is now approaching the big players in the industry with analyses of the formulations those firms have already brought to market. Furthermore, it is also its modelling processes to produce alternative formulations that could enhance the effect of the active ingredients.

Such a clear demonstration is just what is needed for a new process to find a foothold in an industry that is typically resistant to change. ‘Pharmaceutical companies are very conservative, and they are reluctant to say what actives they are using. It is important for us to work with them to show that we can save them time and money,’ notes Girdharry. ‘Pharmaceuticals is as big a market for our excipient products as cosmetics. We are emphasising the fact that we are an ICI company and that we have been around for some time. We know the market well, and we are not a recent arrival,’ he continues.

Already gaining an audience for its methodology among smaller pharma companies, Uniqema is testing its models with firms in France and Spain. If it delivers on the same scale as it has done in cosmetics, major pharmas will not be able to ignore it for long.

Further information

Uniqema Ltd
Email: andrew.girdharry@uniqema.com
Website: www.uniqema.com