Colorcon and LOTTE Fine Chemical Announce Partnership

In a joint statement on Oct. 8, 2024, Colorcon, a specialty excipients company, and LOTTE Fine Chemical, a specialty chemical company, announced they were partnering to develop and manufacture drug and dietary supplement products using LOTTE’s AnyCoat Hypromellose products. Through the partnership, Colorcon will have exclusive representation of LOTTE’s AnyCoat-C Hypromellose polymers, used in solution/suspension, controlled-release, and immediate-release formulations; and AnyCoat-P Hypromellose Phthalate polymers, used for enteric coating to deliver a drug safely into the intestines.

“Colorcon is proud to announce our partnership with LOTTE Fine Chemical as we continue to support the formulation development needs of our customers around the world,” stated Kurt Fegely, vice-president of Excipient Technologies for Colorcon, in the press release (1). “LOTTE has been a leader in the specialty chemical industry for more than six decades and they have continued to innovate and evolve during that time. This partnership combines an impressive product portfolio for immediate, delayed, and controlled release with a global network of technical innovation and service that will accelerate formulation development, helping our customers compete in an increasingly competitive market.”

“This agreement is significant in that it represents a long-term collaboration in the pharmaceutical cellulose ether market between recognized market leaders. Through this relationship with Colorcon, an organization with proven expertise and leadership in the pharmaceutical industry, we will be able to deliver the most optimized value to our global customers,” Kim Yong-seok, chief executive officer for LOTTE Fine Chemical, added in the release.

“We are excited to bring together LOTTE Fine Chemical’s expertise in cellulose ether chemistry—and their commitment to high quality manufacturing—with Colorcon’s 60+ years of dedication to service excellence, supply reliability, and technical applications support,” said Simon Tasker, chief executive officer for Colorcon (1). “Our combined offering positions us to bring enhanced value to our customers and is a clear demonstration of our commitment to the global pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries.”

Pharmaceutical Technology® Europe recently spoke with Ali Rajabi-Siahboomi, vice-president and chief innovation officer at Colorcon, about the evolution of coating design and how it has impacted investment, as well as innovations in packaging for oral solid dosage products (2). Coating design for solid dosage products has evolved from sugar coating to film coating to solvent-based and then to aqueous coating over the years, according to Rajabi-Siahboomi.

“But the development of this robust and optimized formulation that we've had, and the umbrella of open dry system, has made it much easier to have the right film coating, but at the same time, apply it much more efficiently and take that on board with the increasing population,” he says. “Therefore, there is an increasing demand on making sure that the tablets coming into the market are coated.”

Visit PharmTech.com/view/cphi-milan-2024-evolution-of-coating-design to watch the interview with Ali Rajabi-Siahboomi.

Colorcon is showcasing its products at Booth 6D58 at CPHI Milan, which is being held from Oct. 8–10, 2024 in Milan, Italy.

References

1. Colorcon. Colorcon and LOTTE Fine Chemical Announce Global Partnership to Support the Development and Manufacture of Pharmaceutical and Dietary Supplement Formulations Using the AnyCoat Hypromellose Product Family. Press Release. Oct. 8, 2024.
2. Thomas, F. CPHI Milan 2024: Evolution of Coating Design. PharmTech.com. Oct. 9, 2024.