138 - Hidden Pharmaceutics: The Fascinating Science Behind Dosage Formulations

HelixTalk - Rosalind Franklin University's College of Pharmacy Podcast

Sean P. Kane, PharmD, BCPS

Health & Fitness, Medications, Rosalindfranklin, Rfums, Pharmacy, Pharmd, Pharmacist, Medicine, Drugs

5 • 644 Ratings

🗓️ 26 October 2021

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, we discuss the fascinating science of pharmaceutics with Dr. Kristen Ahlschwede and Dr. Rahul Deshmukh. We explore how dosage forms and excipients play an important role in how a drug product behaves in the human body with a particular focus on fentanyl patches, osmotic tablets (with laser-drilled holes), Depakote Sprinkles, and IV amiodarone.

Key Concepts

Fentanyl patches were reformulated from a drug-in-a-reservoir system to an adhesive matrix system to prevent abuse and misuse. The new formulation prevents fentanyl from "leaking" out when cut.
Osmotic tablet systems, such as Procardia XL, Glucotrol XL, and Concerta, use an "active" layer (containing drug) adjacent to a "push" layer that is osmotically active. When the push layer is exposed to water in the GI tract, it swells and pushes the active layer through a small laser-drilled precision hole.
"Sprinkle" dosage forms typically involve small pellets inside a capsule, such as Depakote Sprinkles. The capsule itself does not delay or extend release; instead, the pellets themselves are involved in prolonging the absorption profile of the drug.
Amiodarone IV is commercially available in two formulations -- the conventional formulation (Cordarone) contains benzyl alcohol and tween 80 to solubilize the drug but these excipients are associated with hypotension. A newer formulation (Nexterone) uses cyclodextrin as a solubilizing agent and is not associated with hypotension (although has a risk of nephrotoxicity, especially at higher cumulative doses).

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Helix Talk, an educational podcast for healthcare students and providers covering real-life clinical pearls, professional pharmacy topics, and drug therapy discussions.
0:11.0	This podcast is provided by pharmacists and faculty members at Rosal Franklin University College of Pharmacy.
0:17.0	This podcast contains general information for educational purposes only. This is not professional
0:22.4	advice and should not be used in lieu of obtaining advice from a qualified health care provider.
0:27.2	And now on to the show. Welcome to Helix Talk episode 138. I'm your co-host Dr. Cain.
0:35.5	And I'm Dr. Patal. And the title of today's episode is Hidden Pharmaceuticals, the fascinating science behind dosage
0:42.3	formulations.
0:43.3	And Dr. Patel, I'm actually incredibly excited that we have two guests with us today, Dr.
0:48.3	Deshmuk and Dr. Alsweed, who are pharmaceutical experts at the College of Pharmacy at Rosalyn Franklin University.
0:55.0	We've pulled them in to kind of give some clinical context to the science behind the
1:00.0	pharmaceuticals of products that many of us are already familiar with.
1:04.0	And I'm super excited that they have decided to join and answer our expert questions.
1:10.0	So let's get started. Perfect. So without further ado, we have
1:14.0	four different topics that we're going to jump through. The first one is absolutely fascinating. So it's
1:19.3	fentanyl patches. And, you know, fentanyl patches have actually been around for a really long time.
1:24.6	You know, they were released in the early 1990s under the brand name of Dura
1:28.5	Gizic. Fentanyl itself is a really potent synthetic opioid. It's gotten a lot of attention recently
1:34.7	because of drug overdoses associated with fentanyl, but many patients take fentanyl patches for
1:41.2	therapeutic indications, and this is an important drug in a very unique dosage form as well.
1:47.0	And with that being said, it goes without saying this is a scheduled to controlled substances.
1:53.0	And, you know, obviously there is black box warning for risk for addiction, abuse and misuse.
1:59.0	And because it is so potent, like you said, Dr. Kane, it is reserved for somebody who has
	...

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