Finding the right dosage form for better paediatric patient adherence
Luigi Boltri, PH.D., senior director, Pharmaceutical Sciences, Adare Pharma Solutions, addresses the challenges of paediatric formulations, and how specialised technology platforms can provide ease of application and improve patient outcomes.
Key insights:
- Texture and taste have an impact on the acceptability of a drug formulation, particularly for paediatric patients; the most acceptable textures are a combination of mild flavours and smooth textures.
- Adare's expertise in paediatric formulations helps them address complexities that are challenging for companies new to pursuing patient-centered development.
- Adare’s Parvulet dosage form, which approximates the texture of easy-to-swallow soft foods, can be an important aspect of a paediatric formulation.
Paediatric populations represent the most diverse patient groups in all of medicine. Factors such as individual preferences, physiology, and dosage considerations all serve to complicate drug formulation aimed at paediatric care. Drug formulation for children has become increasingly important as the healthcare field recognises the huge impact that strict patient adherence can have on a treatment’s efficacy.
By partnering with a CDMO with experience in paediatric formulation, pharmaceutical companies can increase acceptability of their drugs among paediatric patients.
Factors that influence treatment adherence in children
Eating and swallowing are complex behaviours, involving more than 30 muscles and nerves. These behaviours differ in young children compared to adults, owing to changes in the pharynx that occur with maturation. Consequently, developers and manufacturers should understand the impacts of physiology when formulating a drug for paediatric populations.
Texture and taste have an impact on the acceptability of a drug formulation, particularly for paediatric patients; the most acceptable textures are a combination of mild flavours and smooth textures. For older children, overall palatability is arguably more important than any other factor in deciding on a formulation approach.
Partnering for better paediatric patient outcomes
The cost and timelines associated with developing alternative dosage forms for paediatrics can result in a reluctance to invest. But finding a manufacturing partner with the experience, expertise, and facilities needed to pursue a range of formulation options can help expedite the development process.
Adare Pharma Solutions, a multinational CDMO providing product development through commercial manufacturing expertise, has long focused on oral dosage forms that address the unique needs of paediatric populations. Their expertise in paediatric formulations helps them address complexities that are challenging for companies new to pursuing patient-centered development. Adare’s portfolio represents one of the most comprehensive in the world regarding important paediatric considerations like taste masking and product acceptability.
Adare’s taste masking capabilities include commercially feasible physical barrier technologies, such as Microcaps and Optimμm, that boast a wide array of delivery formats such as powders, liquid suspensions, orally disintegrating and dispersible tablets.
Adare’s Parvulet dosage form, which approximates the texture of easy-to-swallow soft foods, can be an important aspect of a paediatric formulation. Parvulet initially takes the form of a granule/powder or tablet. Once placed in a spoon along with a few millilitres of water, the solid dosage form is converted in less than a minute into a food-like product with the consistency of applesauce.
By partnering with a CDMO like Adare, companies can help ensure that their drug’s paediatric formulations are the best fit for its youngest patients, and improves therapy outcomes through better patient adherence.