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Feature|Videos|April 13, 2026 (Updated: April 20, 2026)
Beyond Bitterness: How Taste Science and Functional Excipients Improve Drug Performance
Author(s)Fernanda Onofre, dsm-firmenich
Key Takeaways
- Understand why taste, and bitterness in particular, is a critical yet often underestimated factor in pharmaceutical drug development.
- Learn what differentiates the ModulaSENSE® Bitter technology and how receptor‑based insights help reduce trial‑and‑error in formulation.
Fernanda Onofre, PhD, explains how the dsm-firmenich ModulaSENSE® Bitter platform and the functional application of vitamins as excipients are revolutionizing drug palatability and performance.
While the bitter taste of medicine is often an afterthought in development, it remains a critical barrier to patient compliance and brand success. Fernanda Onofre, PhD, Director of Global Marketing and Business Development for Pharma Biologics Solutions at dsm-firmenich, highlights how the company is addressing this challenge with ModulaSENSE® Bitter, a receptor-based technology that replaces traditional trial-and-error formulation with predictive, scientific insights. Beyond taste, she details how vitamins function as powerful excipients to stabilize formulations and mitigate risks like nitrosamine formation, providing formulators with an integrated toolkit to center patient health.
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