Trillions of bacteria, viruses, fungi and other microorganisms reside in the human digestive system and affect our health. While most of these distinctive species are beneficial, some can be potentially pathogenic or harmful. A growing number of diseases are now thought to be influenced by processes that occur in the gut microbiome, including many  types of cancer and autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis. Our understanding is also increasing as to how the gut microbiome can influence the effects of some drug products.

Microbiota therapies and other microbiome-based products can be highly reliant upon the development of oral formulations with the functionality to improve targeting, enhance protection and boost product performance. Key formulation and oral application goals can include increasing survival rates via increased gastric resistance and extending residence times through controlled transit control. For many products, it can be critical to develop release profiles that enable targeted delivery to the colon or other intestinal sites at the right concentration. Furthermore, many companies recognize the importance of increasing storage stability and increasing processability at ambient temperature ranges.

To help release the true value of microbiota therapies and microbiome-based products, Evonik provides its customers with a broad, versatile portfolio of functional solutions.  We can leverage several decades of expertise in the development of complex oral solid dosage forms to address your specific application requirements.  Our EUDRAGIT® portfolio can be reliably applied across a broad range of established encapsulation process technologies from capsule filling to spray drying. Furthermore, our selection of pH, time and microbial dependent drug delivery systems for modified release can help to precisely target the colon or other microbiome sites.

Evonik operates a global network of formulation and application laboratories for oral solid dosage forms across Europe, Asia and North America, including some which are BSL-2 certified. These labs are staffed with technical teams that can leverage decades of expertise across a range of therapy areas, dosage forms and process technologies to help you improve the survival and stability of products, or to better control transit and residence times. Evonik can support you across a range of projects until the final dosage form is in your hands, including preclinical feasibility studies and fast-track compatibility studies. We can also conduct the rapid cGMP manufacturing of your clinical batches at our modern facilities in Germany.