New Insights and Methods for Studying the Impact of Lipid Excipients on the Precipitation Behaviour of Poorly Water-Soluble Drugs

A large number of newly discovered drugs are not suited to conventional dose forms, such as tablets, for oral drug delivery. Lipid based formulations are an alternative dose form, which provide a means to successfully deliver these drugs by making use of the body's natural digestion mechanism. The issue of drug precipitation, however, has hindered the successful development of these formulations. This work examined the factors that govern drug precipitation during lipid formulation digestion, and showed that a level of control can be attained, which could ultimately assist in optimizing the development of lipid formulations.