Innovation Winner
Lonza’s Enprotect Capsule is the recipient of the 2023 Medicine Maker Innovation Award
Stephanie Vine | | 2 min read | Hot Topic
Following a busy year for innovation in pharmaceutical manufacturing technologies – and many worthy nominees, we can now announce the grand winner of The Medicine Maker Innovation Awards…
Congratulations to Lonza and its Enprotect capsules!
This year, we saw record numbers of votes and nominations, so the Lonza team should feel proud of seeing off some incredibly tough competition.
Lonza has a well-established history of developing and launching innovative oral solid dosage forms. Enprotect bi-layer capsules enable targeted release in the small intestine – exactly where (and when) it is needed. The HPMC inner layer provides the appropriate properties for forming a hard capsule in terms of manufacturing process and mechanical properties, while the HPMC-AS outer layer ensures it opens or disintegrates in the small intestine rather than the stomach. The capsules are created using a manufacturing platform technology that can produce capsules with these two distinct layers, while maintaining standard dimensions. Notably, the manufacturing method does not require an enteric coating formulation, and there is no stress to sensitive APIs because they are filled directly into the capsule without further downstream processing.
Christian Seufert, President, Capsules & Health Ingredients, Lonza, said, “It is an honor for Lonza’s Enprotect capsule to be recognized by The Medicine Maker and your readers. This innovative capsule solution for enteric drug delivery results from a passionate and fruitful collaboration across our R&D teams that represents more than a scientific advancement; it is a testament to our dedication to meeting the evolving needs of our customers and their patients.”
You can learn more about the development story behind Enprotect in a future edition of The Medicine Maker.
Innovation Every Year
The Innovation Awards is an annual showcase of new drug development and manufacturing technology available on the market. The 2022 award went to Lubrizol Life Science Health’s Apisolex Polymer (read the interview featuring Joey Glassco).
For 2023, nominations were, as usual, submitted via the website, with a shortlist being published in December 2023. Readers were then invited to vote for their favorite technology.
This year’s Runner Up was TriLink’s CleanCap M6 mRNA cap analog, designed to help researchers maximize the impact of mRNA therapeutics. According to the company, analog improves potency and increases mRNA yields with a capping efficiency of more than 95 percent.
Nominations for the 2024 Innovation Awards will open soon. Sign up for our newsletter to be the first to find out when the nomination form is live.
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