Pharmaceutical tablets are solid, unit dosage forms prepared by compressing a drug (API) with or without diluents. Furthermore, tablets offer flexibility as oral formulations in their use and are available as film coated tablets, enteric coated tablets, buccal tablets, lozenges, extended release tablets, complex modified release tablets, etc. each having their own benefits.
- Complex-modified release tablets: The development of complex modified-release tablets is achieved via controlled drug delivery, involving both delayed and extended release systems of oral administration. These delivery mechanisms, employed in oral formulations like complex modified release tablets, alter the timing or rate of release of active ingredients to successfully modify the expulsion of poorly water-soluble drugs in the body.
Typical drug delivery methods include liquids, creams, sprays, injectables, suppositories, etc. However, the preferred dosage form by a large margin, remains to be oral solid dose (OSD) dosage forms. Solid dosage manufacturing trends show that oral solid dose (OSD) dosage forms continue to play a major role in the contract manufacturing and CDMO industry, representing about 70% of the market.
Oral solid dosage outsourcing trends further reveal that despite the increasing types of biologics, oral solid forms such as tablets & capsules- remain dominant in the market. The ease of administration, identification, and relatively better taste assert oral solid forms as the leading mode of drug administration. Besides tablet formulations and capsules, there are other types of oral solid dose (OSD) dosage forms, namely:
- Powders
- Granules
- Sachets
Amongst these pharmaceutical products, tableted oral solid forms are the preferred formulations for drug delivery. Tablets have the greatest dose precision, lowest content variability, lowest cost, and various other favorable qualities that make them a desired choice amongst pharma CMOs and CDMOs offering formulation development services (contract development services).
Active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and excipients such as binders, lubricants, and fillers are the diverse ingredients present in tablets. In order to create a homogenous mixture, the process of blending is employed during tablet manufacturing to mix the excipients and APIs together. Ultimately, tablets function as unit doses that deliver the desired quantity of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) to the end consumer with unparalleled accuracy.