Roquette, a French provider of pharmaceutical and nutraceutical excipients and plant-based ingredients, recently opened a $25 million Pharmaceutical Innovation Center near Philadelphia.
“Today’s grand opening feels like the start of something special for Roquette,” said Paul Smaltz, Roquette’s vice president of pharmaceutical solutions. “With its strategic location in one of the world’s top pharma-producing regions, the new site will unlock even greater opportunities for closer collaboration with our customers in the U.S. and provide a beacon of best practice training and advice to our teams across the globe.”
The center will further the field of pharmaceutical science through research-led product development and cross-industry collaboration with pharmaceutical and nutraceutical manufacturers worldwide. Training workshops and manufacturing-oriented seminars will be held.
Planned workshop topics include selecting excipients for controlled release dosage forms, enhancing bioavailability, and formulating effective orally dispersible and chewable tablets. Seminars will discuss improving wet/dry granulation processes and strategies for effective continuous manufacturing.
The facility will focus on optimizing the patient experience with next-generation oral dosage drugs.
Dr. Vinod Tuliani, Roquette’s head of Global Pharmaceutical Sciences, will lead the Philadelphia team. Tuliani has more than 30 years of experience in the U.S. pharmaceutical industry and will be responsible for setting the company’s long-term scientific strategy and implementation.