Evonik develops biodegradable materials for oral drug delivery
German chemicals company Evonik is developing a biodegradable polymer platform that will form the basis of the next generation of its Eudragit functional excipients for oral drug delivery. The polymers combine biodegradability at end-of-life with performance comparable to current industry standards for solubility enhancement and delayed-release coatings. The material is currently available in non-commercial, lab-scale quantities for joint development projects with selected partners.
Thilo Krapfl, Head of Oral Drug Delivery Solutions at Evonik Health Care, said the next generation of Eudragit moves beyond measuring sustainability by incorporating a biodegradable end-of-life profile into materials that formulators can process using existing equipment and methods.
Biodegradable excipients enable pharmaceutical companies to incorporate sustainability into drug products from the design stage by reducing environmental persistence while maintaining the functionality required for oral drug delivery. The new polymers meet standardised biodegradability testing criteria under OECD 301 F and OECD 301 B, achieving more than 60% biodegradation.
Eudragit polymethacrylates are used for a range of drug delivery applications and can be used individually or in combination to provide release profiles ranging from immediate to delayed release, as well as solubility enhancement for poorly soluble drug substances. They are compatible with processing technologies including hot-melt extrusion and spray drying, while the new biodegradable grades are designed to provide the solubility enhancement and targeted release performance associated with Eudragit.
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