RTP Pharma's process for formulating water-insoluble drugs gets U.S. patent

RTP Pharma Inc. (Montreal), a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of novel products using its Insoluble Drug Delivery (IDD) technology, has been granted a U.S. patent for its innovative processes for manufacturing IDD products. The patent granted covers processes that utilize supercritical fluid technology to generate surface-modified, sub-micron-sized particles of water-insoluble drugs that are more easily absorbed by the human body.

"This pioneering technology significantly enhances our capabilities by providing a more economical and efficient way of making sub-micron-sized particles of water-insoluble drugs," said Gary W. Pace, president and CEO, RTP Pharma. "The technology is robust, scalable and applicable to a wide range of water-insoluble compounds and further augments our platform technology to formulate insoluble drugs. This will further enable RTP Pharma to expand product life-cycles of existing products and facilitate the delivery of new chemical entities."

Drug insolubility is one of the most challenging issues in the development of many pharmaceutical products. Over one third of drugs listed in the U.S. Pharmacopoeia and about 50% of new chemical entities (NCE's) are insoluble or poorly soluble in water. As a result, many drugs are marketed as sub-optimal formulations, often giving poor or erratic bioavailability or a greater risk of adverse side effects. Many otherwise promising compounds never reach the market due to insolubility issues. RTP Pharma's IDD technology platform provides solutions to overcome these problems by enhancing the uptake and safety of water-insoluble drugs. Using this technology, RTP Pharma currently has several products in various stages of clinical development in injectable, oral and inhalable dosage forms.

RTP Pharma develops and commercializes novel, soluble formulations of drugs that are insoluble or poorly soluble in water. It focuses on carefully selected, currently marketed drugs, which, through the application of its IDD technology, offer improved medical benefits over existing products as well as strong commercial potential. IDD technology improves the effectiveness of insoluble drugs and enables new methods of administration, which can be applied to a broad range of therapeutic classes, including anesthetics, anti-cancer agents and immune suppressants. A number of these products have been successfully reformulated, including cyclosporine, propofol, fenofibrate and busulfan. Through its IDD technology, RTP Pharma can also provide for extended patent coverage, allowing products a longer, more profitable market life. RTP Pharma has alliances with Elan Corp., SuperGen, Schering Plough Corp., and IDEXX and other non-disclosed partners on drugs formulated using IDD technology. Further information on RTP Pharma can be found at www.rtppharma.com.

For more information, contact Gary W. Pace, president and CEO of RTP Pharma Inc., at 514-362-9818.

Source: RTP Pharma