Pharmaceutical formulators are looking for swift, tailored solutions to identify the best film coating for their dosage forms and to better respond to film-coating issues when they arise. To meet this need, Ashland Specialty Ingredients, a commercial unit of Ashland Inc, recently launched a web-based film-coatings troubleshooting tool to enable formulators to quickly solve their toughest tablet-coating challenges.

"Film-coating choices directly affect the efficacy of a tablet formulation," said Stuart Porter, senior research fellow and technical lead, Global Film Coating Technology.

"Our new film-coating troubleshooting tool presents typical problems experienced during the coating process and insights that can help formulators resolve them. We work closely with customers to enable them to choose the best coating for each formulation. We provide global technical assistance and deliver solutions to meet our customers' product development needs", he added.

Ashland’s line of fully formulated, easily dispersed and ready-to-use AquariusTM film coating systems have a range of functions to suit almost any core. With a wide selection of film-coating choices, Ashland provides optimal coatings for unique formulations.

Functional coating capabilities including moisture barrier, odor- and taste- masking, and controlled/delayed release from Ashland are based on acrylate polymers or combinations of cellulosic and other polymers and unique ingredients to offer the desired functionality.

Ashland, a manufacturer and marketer of pharmaceutical-grade cellulose-derived and vinyl pyrrolidone-based polymeric excipients, has concurrently unveiled a completely refreshed pharmaceutical website.

“The new website is organized around Ashland’s key applications and products, making it more convenient for formulators to find the information they need and to be able to contact us directly with their questions,” explains David Neuberger, vice president, Ashland Pharmaceutical Ingredients.

Ashland’s tablet film-coating capabilities are underscored by its broad network of technical support and laboratories down to the regional level. The company operates pharmaceutical centers of excellence in Wilmington, Del. (USA) and Hyderabad, India, and regional supporting laboratories in Düsseldorf, Germany; Istanbul, Turkey; São Paulo, Brazil; Buenos Aires, Argentina and Shanghai, China.