Drug Delivery Insights: Strategies for Solubility and Bioavailability Enhancement of Poorly Soluble Drugs

Improving the oral absorption and bioavailability of poorly soluble drugs is crucial for pharmaceutical companies seeking to bring efficacious drugs to patients in dosing regimens and product forms that are easy to use, affordable, and facilitate patient compliance. To understand the extent of this challenge and the technologies for bioavailability/solubility enhancement, Pharmaceutical Technology partnered with the Catalent Applied Drug Delivery Institute in the second annual Catalent–Pharmaceutical Technology Landscape Drug Delivery Survey (see here for survey results). The study surveyed formulation scientists involved with oral product development in pharmaceutical companies in the United States, Canada, and Europe to understand their key concerns and the technologies used to resolve problems of solubility and bioavailability. The results showed that there are a myriad of technical concerns attendant to solubility/bioavailablity and many factors have to be taken into consideration in deciding which approach isoptimal for a given API. In an editorial podcast, Kurt Nielsen, chief technology officer and senior vice-president of R&D for Catalent Pharma Solutions, provided insight into the technology challenges and solutions for bioavailability enhancement.