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Nanoform, a Finnish nanotechnology and drug particle engineering company, has won the prestigious Excellence in Pharma Award for Formulation at the 16th CPhI Pharma Awards which took place in Germany this November.

The prize sees world-renowned innovative companies competing against one another. This year Nanoforms ingenious medicine enabling nanotechnology, in the form of its CESS nanonization technology, won the highly contested award.

Who are Nanoform?

International pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are well aware of the work that Nanoform dedicates itself to. Nanoform partners with businesses with the aim to boost their molecules formulation performance as well as to reduce clinical attrition. Nanoform is committed to working with international companies to provide them with cutting-edge, innovative solutions for the development and delivery of drugs.

The technology that won it the esteemed prize at the CPhI Pharma Awards was its multi-patented nanonization process which was designed with the capability of substantially improving dissolution rates and bioavailability, having the impact of doubling the number of drug compounds reaching clinical trials. In addition, the innovation has been shown to add value to the drug delivery spaces of pulmonary, transdermal, ocular and blood-brain barrier.

For this innovative new process, Nanoform surpassed the efforts of other respected companies such as Cambrex, Lonza Capsugel, and Glatt Pharmaceutical Services, who had also entered in the same category.

The Innovation

The new CESS, short for Controlled Expansion of Supercritical Solutions, nanonization technology has multiple patents for its unique design. It creates designed-for-purpose, nano-sized active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) particles, using a process that can control the particles shape, increasing uniformity. The system also has the ability to produce nanoparticles as small as 10 nm.

The method works by controlling the solubility of an API in supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO2) through a bottom-up method of recrystallization. Previous alternatives had been limited, and the CESS system surpasses those due to its utilization of controlled mass transfer, pressure reduction and flow. Another benefit of the system is that it is green, its process is free from using excipients and organic solvents.

Through Nanoforms innovation, novel opportunities are opening up to the field of drug research and development.

The Significance of the CESS System

Nanomaterials have unique properties that differ from their bulk material counterparts. These different properties have made them of special interest to a number of scientific fields, which has boosted exploration into nanoparticles over recent years. It has been found that these unique properties have potential applications in the areas of nanomedicine, therapeutics, medical devices and more. They have been identified as vectors for medical imaging, biological diagnostics and therapeutics.

What has been achieved by Nanoform is that another avenue of potential use has been opened up for nanoparticles. Nanoform has developed a reliable system that allows the benefits of nanoparticles to be harnessed in drug research and development. The unique properties of nanoparticles will be able to be put to use in developing new therapeutic treatments, which could induce a significant shift in the pharmaceutical sector.

It is generally accepted that advancements in the use of nanoparticles in this area would significantly influence the advancement of human therapeutics. Now pharmaceutical companies have access to a system that allows them to tailor-make nanoparticles, the innovation of new therapies that previously would not have been possible could be on the horizon.

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Nanoform Wins Award for Drug Development and Delivery - AZoNano