The film coating process requires a balance of the complex interactions between the tablet substrate, coating system, coating process and equipment. In this feature Jason Teckoe, technical director, EMEA at Colorcon discusses the importance of choosing the right formulation and managing the coating process to ensure process efficiency while delivering a perfect tablet finish.
Paint
Tablet Film Coating Scale-Up & Tech Transfer
A frequent challenge for manufacturers is scaling up to different coating equipment while maintaining reproducible coating quality. It’s common for issues not predicted earlier in development to become apparent in real-world settings.
A key part of technology transfer is scale-up, with studies to take the optimised, already-developed process and transfer it to various equipment types and sizes - often at other manufacturing sites. In some cases, it can involve further optimisation of parameters specific to the manufacturing site or a particular piece of equipment. Also, as older processes or equipment are improved, coating parameters sometimes change. This is not uncommon when shifting from a conventional type of coater (solid-pan) to a perforated pan (auto-coater), or when transitioning from batch coating to larger scale continuous or semi-continuous coating equipment.