Scale Up Of The Spray-Drying Process

A conversation with Michael Levis, Ph.D.

The overall pharmaceutical spray drying industry could grow beyond $1 billion by 2024.¹ Yet, while spray drying found its use for the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), the technology has not been used as widely for commercial drug formulations. According to recent research from ReportLinker, future growth in the market will primarily be driven by aseptic spray drying, which allows production of injectable biologics and vaccines. The process, suitable for heat-sensitive products, is likely to find acceptance for drying of biologics as replacement of lyophilization. This will help eliminate the requirement for cold chains and refrigeration, saving not just the cost of maintaining such processes, but also preventing the costs associated with drug batches that lose integrity due to cold chain challenges.