TOKYO, May 21, 2019 — Toray Industries, Inc. announced today that the company received the Academy of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology, Japan (APSTJ) Asahi Kasei Pharmaceutical Technology Award for its high-performance film technology, which enables orally disintegrating (OD) tablet formulation, and the development of Remitch® OD tablets.*1
The Asahi Kasei Pharmaceutical Technology Award is given in recognition of outstanding research into basic drug discovery, development and application and in recognition of advances in transforming approaches to pharmaceutical quality on the international stage. This is the first time that Toray has been honored with the award.
The award recognizes Toray’s achievement in coating OD tablets, an innovative improvement for pharmaceuticals that results in higher performance and higher added value for the drugs, and the company’s contribution to forging new inroads in developing pharmaceutical formulation technology. Demand for OD tablets is high among individuals dealing with restricted intake of liquids and elderly people with compromised swallowing function, and Toray’s coating technology is expected to help improving the quality of life for these patients and offer medical practitioners greater convenience.
The active ingredient in Remitch®, nalfurafine hydrochloride, is easily photodegraded, requiring advanced light-shielding technology for OD tablet formulation. Additionally, since the 2.5μg contained in each tablet is extremely highly active, containment of drug dispersion from the tablet is also necessary. Resolving these issues with conventional coating technology, however, results in the loss of the OD tablets’ most salient feature, rapid disintegration. It therefore became clear that formulating Remitch® as OD tablets would require the development of special film coating technology.
To overcome these issues, Toray developed RADIFIL® fast-dissolving film coating technology, which provides innovative coating technologies for OD tablets and film pharmaceutical formulations with superior light shielding, advanced elongation, and fast-dissolving properties. The application of this technology has made it possible to increase product value by improving the stability and ease of handling of medications and allowed Toray to formulate Remitch® as OD tablets, a development initially considered impossible.
RADIFIL® coating technology also won The Encouragement Prize for Invention from the Local Commendation of Invention of Kanto by the Japan Institute of Invention and Innovation in 2018.
Toray is committed to contributing to society and achieving sustainable growth and expansion by promoting the development of high value-added pharmaceuticals utilizing cutting-edge material technologies.
*1 Remitch® is a registered trademark of Torii Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
