Role of Excipients in Pharmaceuticals — Essential Components for the Improvement of Overall Pharmaceutical Activity and Performance
Excipients have been recognized to provide better functionality and competitive advantage in drug formulations and this has contributed to their increased usage by pharmaceutical firms in recent years.
Excipients are common ingredients used in pharmaceutical formulations. They are added to active pharmaceutical ingredients either to bulk up the formulation, mask the taste, or enhance bioavailability of the formulation. They can be added to all forms of drugs, solid oral or liquid oral, and to formulations through various routes of administration. They can also influence drug delivery mechanisms.
Ongoing research on and discovery of ideal or near ideal substances that can be used in drug formulations and delivery has given the excipients market a definite boost. Another factor that contributes toward global growth is that most pharmaceutical firms have been busy in development of more sophisticated excipients with enhanced role in drug delivery.
The significance of these additives in pharmaceuticals has been identified of late and efforts are being made to develop better and ideal excipients. Additional research on novel excipients that can be incorporated in oncological drug formulations and their delivery systems has begun in recent years. Efforts are also being undertaken to develop multifunctional excipients that can promote more than one quality of the formulation. In short, these excipients play a crucial role in maintaining the measured requirement of pharmaceutical formulations.
Currently, important steps are being taken by various regulatory bodies and governments to regulate the quality of raw materials used in the preparation and manufacture of excipients. Latest norms require manufacturing sites to be designed according to cGMP regulations and follow standard protocols, which can improve the quality of the final product. Suppliers of raw materials used in the manufacturing of excipients should be licensed and there should be a licensed agreement stating all the terms and quality of materials being supplied. Such regulations are expected to help manufacturers in developing pure and improved excipients for further usage.
Many manufacturers are looking to improve processing time along with quality of the excipient by formulating special excipient blends that provide ready-made combinations of fillers, binders, disintegrants, lubricants, and other products. In addition, patent expiry of many blockbuster drugs by leading multinational pharmaceutical firms is expected in the coming years. This is expected to intensify competition among players and drive them to formulate different or multifunctional excipients.
Researchers have been looking to identify sugar-based pharmaceutical excipients for drug delivery. Such new technologies are likely to aid the improvement of drug delivery and release, especially with growing need for sustained release formulations.
Analysts have found that the excipients market is in a phase of radical change in terms of standards and quality. Innovations in the coming years can be expected owing to rising demand for high quality and newer excipients for drug delivery. Growing demand for nanomedicine will also have a positive impact on the need for quality excipients.
