10-year-anniversary of Pensatech Pharma in Adlershof
Turning active ingredients into dosage forms
The systems are running at full speed in the laboratories of Pensatech Pharma GmbH. As a service provider for the pharmaceutical industry, the company tests and develops dosage forms that often make certain drug substances available to humans and animals in the first place. And transport them to where they belong in the desired dosage and speed. The company is celebrating its 10-year-anniversary in August. Today, it is approached by customers from all over the world, ranging from small businesses to large global pharma corporations – often with challenging projects.
Pensatech is a university spin-off from Free University Berlin. Initially located in Steglitz, the company sought additional capacities and came to Adlershof in 2015. Managing director Roland Bodmeier: “Here, we found exactly the labs and the equipment we needed.”
Since then, the company has been researching, developing, and analysing drugs with a focus on modified release systems (delayed delivery) and depot drugs for oral delivery or parenteral injection (bypassing the gut). Enhancing bioavailability is also a frequent topic because many drugs can only be absorbed in soluble form. “Some of our technologies,” says Bodmeier, “help to improve the speed at which drugs dissolve in the gastrointestinal tract.” These include reducing the particle size of poorly soluble substances on a micro and nanometre scale and working them into water-soluble excipients. Moreover, various drug delivery systems or sophisticated salt formations can control dissolution and accelerate the absorption of drugs into the organism during intestinal passage.
In the field of injections, their work focuses on depot drugs to overcome the need for daily injections. Depots can be based on polylactic acid or polyglycolic acid, which can both be degraded by the body without residues and are thus counted among the biodegradable polymers. They are used, for example, to encapsulate active pharmaceutical ingredients into tiny microparticles sized between 20 to 50 micrometres, which are then administered subcutaneously (under the skin) or intramuscularly. Biodegradable implants are increasingly sought after. Depending on their application, these drug-laden “rods” are injected into patients’ bodies using tiny cannula, where they then locally release an active ingredient for up to six months. This is already being done, for example, when treating various types of cancer, hormone replacement therapies, inflammatory as well as mental diseases. Local drug delivery is also an option here. These implants can also be applied directly to the eye, for example, to prevent macular degeneration.
Expertise in formulation development of drugs is always connected to the industrial implementation of processes. Based on long-standing experience and the use of scalable methods and systems, the company can outline the transfers of such manufacturing processes.
Finally, Pensatech Pharma’s long-term consistency is ensured by the high quality of its analytical procedures that adhere to the principles of “Good Manufacturing Practice” (GMP), which also allows them to gain approval of products for the European market.
Currently, ten employees, including pharmacists and chemical-technical laboratory technician, are implementing the projects. More staff will be needed in the future. “Our doors are always open to good people who are passionate and hands-on when it comes to working in science,” says Martin Körber, director of research and development and head of quality control.
On its tenth anniversary and with its experience in GMP analytics, the aspiring company now wants to push forward into the drug manufacturing area for clinical samples and is looking for additional spaces in Adlershof.
Kathrin Reisinger for Adlershof Journal