Capsugel Previews New Generation, Easy-to-Open Sprinkle Capsule at CPhI Worldwide and AAPS Annual Meeting and Exposition

MORRISTOWN, New Jersey, October 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Coni-Snap® Sprinkle Capsule Is First Capsule Technology Specifically Designed to Support People With Swallowing Difficulties

Capsugel is launching an innovative capsule design to improve adherence to treatment regimens for patients with difficulties swallowing. These patients include babies, children, and older adults as well as patients with medical conditions such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Multiple Sclerosis. The new Coni-Snap^® sprinkle capsule is expected to be available in 2014.

"We recognize that patient populations are very diverse with different needs, which is challenging the traditional 'one-size-fits-all' approach to drug formulation and development," said Sven Stegemann, PhD, Director for Pharmaceutical Business Development at Capsugel. "Especially among very young and very old patients, there is a need for dose adjustments to account for the physiological differences in these patient populations. Easy-to-open capsule technology allows for accurate dosing at many different dose strengths of easy-to-swallow multiparticulates and sprinkles, which may lead to improved adherence and minimize dispensing errors."

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Encapsulated drug multiparticulates, or "sprinkles", containing a defined dose of medicine that can be sprinkled on food or beverages is a known alternative for people with challenges swallowing. The major difficulty using standard capsules is that their strong locking mechanism requires sufficient grip strength and dexterity to reopen the capsule. Capsugel's Coni-Snap^® sprinkle capsule was developed to provide easy-to-open capsules to caregivers and patients yet has a strong enough lock that allows for processing in the manufacturing and distribution chain.

Capsugel tested the new design with caregivers to gauge usability, ease of opening, and user accuracy when sprinkling medications. More than 80 percent of participants described the new design as "easy" or "very easy" to open.^[1] And, while most participants naturally opened the capsules horizontally, the evaluation determined that the most effective way to instruct users to open the capsules was with arrows printed directly on the capsule shell.

"The easy-to-open capsule has the potential to make medication management simpler for patients and caregivers without compromising quality, safety, or efficacy for patients," said Dr. Stegemann. "Also, for the pharmaceutical industry, Coni-Snap^® sprinkle capsules offer a cost-effective solution for commercial products and line extensions based on existing and proven formulation and manufacturing technology."

The Coni-Snap^® sprinkle capsule will be previewed at Capsugel's booth at CPhI Worldwide 2013 in Frankfurt, Germany (Booth #41G20) and the upcoming 2013 AAPS Annual Meeting and Exposition (Booth #2012) in San Antonio, Texas.

ABOUT CAPSUGEL

Capsugel is a global leader in delivering high-quality, innovative dosage forms and solutions to its customers in the health care industry. The company's Hard Capsule business offers customers the broadest portfolio of gelatin, vegetarian, and other specialized capsule technologies, producing more than 200 billion capsules annually. Capsugel's Dosage Form Solutions (DFS) business utilizes an array of proprietary technologies and specialized manufacturing capabilities to solve customers' most pressing product development challenges, including bioavailability enhancement, modified release, abuse deterrence, biotherapeutic processing, and inhalation formulation. The company's fast-to-clinic program streamlines product development from pre-formulation through clinical and commercial supply for finished dosage forms. Headquartered in Morristown, N.J., Capsugel employs 3,100 people, has 13 manufacturing and R&D facilities across three continents, and serves more than 4,000 customers in over 100 countries. For additional information, visit http://www.capsugel.com.

For media inquiries, contact Christina Chnaider at +1-610-680-6214 or [email protected]

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1. Source: Qualitative Survey performed by Capsugel in May 2013 in the EU and the USA

SOURCE Capsugel