Biogrund and Roquette Partner on Film Coating Platform

03/12/07 Biogrund and Roquette have announced a new European strategic partnership for the development of a new ready-to-use film coating platform for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical applications.

Film coating is increasingly used by the Pharmaceutical and Nutraceutical industry for the aesthetic and functional benefits it offers for patients, consumers and manufacturers.

The new film coating platform being developed by Roquette and Biogrund uses Roquette’s new starch-based film coating polymer.

Roquette has developed the LYCOAT range of starch-based polymers taking into consideration the market demand for improved organoleptic properties, ease of solubilisation and process efficiency.

The novel LYCOAT range of starch-based polymers is the result of several years of R&D effort: contrary to a generally held belief, starch, a natural and biorenewable material, can be used in a film-forming polymer.

This breakthrough has opened the way for a series of remarkable properties in film coating, which can be translated directly into benefits for the user and manufacturer, notably a dramatic reduction in coating time and a very high robustness under any process conditions.

Dr Xavier Parissaux, LYCOAT product manager at Roquette Pharma, explains why Roquette has decided to share this technology with an expert partner: “We believe that we have a winning technology with this new starch based polymer. We decided to join forces with a dedicated and extremely active partner that would contribute its expertise in film coating: this partnership will significantly reduce the time to market and enable the patient, consumer and manufacturer to quickly benefit.”

Biogrund is a fast-expanding company specialized in the development of ready-to-use formulations. Biogrund has recently expanded its manufacturing capacity in Huenstetten to meet growing demand.

For Dr Felix Specht, Biogrund Managing Director, the decision to use LYCOAT and partner with Roquette came naturally. “We can see synergies in this alliance: Biogrund’s strength is its reactivity and its capacity to quickly satisfy challenging customer demands. This new polymer is a technical opening, making it an ideal polymer for Biogrund’s ready-to-use mixes.”

Both partners are committed to developing this new coating platform into innovative products for the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industry, and to actively promoting this technology.