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A novel multifunctional excipient for various applications

At CPhI 2016 in Barcelona, Omya, the global producer of calcium carbonate, will showcase Omyapharm®, its innovative pharmaceutical excipient. The newly developed functionalized calcium carbonate can be used in multiple applications, such as orally dispersible granules (ODGs) or tablets (ODTs) that offer high mechanical strength while disintegrating twice as fast as comparable products.

Omyapharm® is manufactured from high purity natural calcium carbonate using a surface recrystallization process. The external lamellae of the particles provide many interlocking contact points. When compacted during dry granulation or tableting, these contact points ensure greater mechanical strength and higher porosity compared with other currently available excipients – even at increased compression pressures. After drug loading, Omyapharm® orally dispersible granules can be directly compressed into ODTs, which keep and preserve the active substances and disintegrate in less than 10 seconds.

Standard market ODTs are manufactured using expensive processes such as freeze drying to achieve fast dispersion rates. The high porosity of ODTs formulated with Omyapharm means that disintegration is rapid and even; as such, there’s no need to use cost-intensive production equipment. Current market formulations also require special packaging because of the inherent friability of ODTs. With their high mechanical strength, tablets formulated with Omyapharm® as an excipient can be filled in regular bottles and blisters, which significantly reduces the cost of packaging.

Owing to its outstanding properties, Omyapharm was selected from 20 shortlisted substances as the winner of the 2015 CPhI Pharma Award for "Best Innovation in APIs and Excipients."