Controlled release collaboration

Published on: May 22, 2007

The Dow Chemical Company has formed an alliance with Colorcon Inc. for the global marketing, sales, technical service, and development and distribution of Dow pharmaceutical excipient products for controlled release applications. The agreement applies to select Methocel hypromellose polymers, Ethocel ethylcellulose polymers and Polyox poly(ethylene) oxide resins.

Philip Pilnik, commercial director for Dow Pharmaceutical Excipients, described the alliance as an "answer to the global pharmaceutical industry's demand for faster development and more efficient production of drug ingredients."

At a press conference announcing the development, Pilnik stated that the alliance would "leverage" Colorcon's "infrastructure", arguing that the news would serve as a "catalyst" for both companies' progression.

Jim Coward, vice president and general manager for Colorcon Modified Release Technologies, supported this stating that "by expanding our relationship with Dow we expect to accelerate our new product development efforts, as well as improve existing solutions for controlled release."

As a result of the alliance, Dow and Colorcon expect to further develop the market for the aforementioned resins for controlled release applications. Additionally, distribution of select resins for the controlled release applications will be transitioned to Colorcon from Dow's existing distributor network.

Marty Kollmeyer, business director for Dow's Methocel polymers, argued that the company's current customers "will benefit from a consistent and more valuable supply chain" and that the company "will be able to focus [its] efforts on building on our polymer science capabilities to accelerate innovation and speed-to-market".