Directly compressible Benecel™ DC HPMC brings process innovation to tablet formulators

SCHAFFHAUSEN, Switzerland - In today's environment, pharmaceutical companies must get products to market faster and work hard to reduce costs. Generics are an ever-growing trend in the current tableting market. Due to fierce competition and the expansion into emerging markets, oral-dosage formulators are not only seeking tablet ingredients with the best functionalities to make their tablets, but they are also looking for the best ingredients to deliver both the desired tablet functionalities and production efficiencies.

Ashland's new range of directly compressible (DC) Benecel&#8482 DC hypromellose (HPMC) delivers innovation and efficiency in the tablet-making process to formulators without compromising the performance of the final product.

Typically, to manufacture a tablet that can control the release of the active ingredient, the ingredients powder first must be granulated to be compressed into the solid-dosage form. With Benecel DC HPMC controlled-release matrix former, the ingredients mix can be directly compressed into the tablet.

"Benecel DC HPMC makes several steps in the manufacturing process obsolete, saving time and money for our customers," said Deneen Law, senior marketing manager, Ashland Pharmaceutical Specialties. "The advantages of Ashland's Benecel DC HPMC are improved flow and compressibility. Previous generations of directly compressible HPMC struggled with a lack of content uniformity. When the powder mix was compressed into tablets, some tablets may have contained more product than others in the same batch," she explained. "With Benecel DC HPMC, this challenge was solved. Benecel DC HMPC increases the content uniformity of the tablet, and provides greater compression of the ingredient mix. Extensive laboratory and beta-site tests show that Benecel DC HPMC's flow and compressibility properties surpass those of other similar directly compressible products in the market."

"Benecel DC HMPC, combined with the experience of Ashland's technical and service support teams, our industry knowledge and our diverse portfolio of chemistries, gives our customers the flexibility to quickly design custom products to address the needs of challenging controlled-release formulations," added Jeff Wolff, group vice president, Pharmaceutical and Nutrition Specialties, Ashland Specialty Ingredients.

Ashland will officially launch Benecel DC HPMC at the Convention on Pharmaceutical Ingredients (CPhI) Worldwide 2013 in Frankfurt, 22-24 October, 2013. Samples will be available as of the same date. To find out more about Benecel DC HPMC and Ashland's broad portfolio for pharmaceutical formulations, visit us at Booth 61B38 in Hall 6.1; contact us at pharmaceutical@ashland.com or visit our website.

About Ashland Specialty Ingredients
Ashland Specialty Ingredients offers industry-leading products, technologies and resources for solving formulation and product performance challenges in key markets including personal care, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, coatings and energy. Using natural, synthetic and semi-synthetic polymers derived from plant and seed extract, cellulose ethers and vinyl pyrrolidones, Ashland Specialty Ingredients offers comprehensive and innovative solutions for today's demanding consumer and industrial applications.

About Ashland Inc.
In more than 100 countries, the people of Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH) provide the specialty chemicals, technologies and insights to help customers create new and improved products for today and sustainable solutions for tomorrow. Our chemistry is at work every day in a wide variety of markets and applications, including architectural coatings, automotive, construction, energy, food and beverage, personal care, pharmaceutical, tissue and towel, and water treatment. Visit ashland.com to see the innovations we offer through our four commercial units - Ashland Specialty Ingredients, Ashland Water Technologies, Ashland Performance Materials and Ashland Consumer Markets.

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Media Relations
Jennifer Knoblach
+31 10 497 5529
jknoblach@ashland.com