Situation
Immediate release coating of oral dosage serves a multitude of purposes. Coating masks unpleasant taste or odor of tablet contents, which increases patient compliance and facilitates swallowing. It also increases stability, improves appearance, and creates a unique look for identification. At present, polymer-based systems are widely used by the pharmaceutical industry for film-coating of oral dosage forms. To achieve proper film formation and acceptable processing time, the coating suspension should be supplied at high solid content.
For this reason, commercially available polymer-based coating systems, for example containing Hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) or Poly vinyl acetate (PVA), are prepared with an organic co-solvent or by heating (bed temperature above 34 °C). Organic solvents are not favored due to add-on product cost, induced by compliance with environmental and OSHA regulations. Furthermore, tablets containing heat sensitive excipients cannot withstand heating conditions without undergoing chemical or physical degradation.
Challenge
Water-soluble formulations allowing film coating at low bed temperature is in great need for oral dosage forms containing heat sensitive actives or excipients, as well as ingredients that melt or which solubility drastically increases with temperature.
Solution
Fully formulated ready-to-use system: ReadiLYCOAT® is a homogeneous blend of plant-derived LYCOAT® RS (modified pregelatinized pea starch polymer), plasticizer, and other additives.
ReadiLYCOAT® is a breakthrough in film-coating for heat-sensitive products, offering a practical solution for tablet film-coating at low bed temperature.