Bilcare Global Clinical Supplies, a single-source provider of clinical trial supplies and services, has enhanced its ability to develop functionally viable and innovative formulation dosage forms for pre-clinical and early-phase drugs. According to Vincent Santa Maria, president of Bilcare GCS, Americas, the addition of new technology – which includes state-of-the-art fluid bed granulation and enhanced capsule-filling equipment – is part of the company’s capital investment program in its U.S. facilities. “With these upgrades, Bilcare GCS can now quickly produce a wider variety of drug dosage forms with high product quality at or above industry standards,” he said. “These investments in R&D services further prove our commitment to being a full-service partner to our global customers.” Praful Naik, Ph.D., chief scientific officer of Bilcare Limited, said, “These enhancements complement the increasing number of investigational new drug (IND) applications submitted by innovator pharma and biotech companies, which in turn requires multi-pronged expertise in formulation and analytical research and development.” The fluid bed granulation technology extends Bilcare’s solid-dosage formulation capabilities. Equipped with Wurster coating inserts, the system enables Bilcare to deliver specialized, high-precision coating processes for granules and non-pareils for the creation of top-quality sustained- and controlled-release tablet and capsule formulations. The In-Cap® capsule system, capable of filling several thousand capsules per hour in multiple permutations, is a versatile tool for pre-clinical and early-stage development. This equipment extends both development and clinical manufacturing capabilities for a myriad of formulation types including powders, pellets, tablets and liquids. “Bilcare’s R&D center can now develop a broad array of dosage forms with innovative delivery mechanisms that exceed those developed by pharmaceutical companies,” says Frank Santillo, Ph.D., Bilcare GCS’ senior director for research services. “Most importantly, we now have the expertise to take a drug candidate from concept to clinical production without the client suffering critical and costly delays as a result of hand-offs.”
