MEGGLE explains why its ‘heart beats for Lactose’

Wasserburg, Germany: – Pharmaceutical lactose specialist MEGGLE celebrates the versatility and multifunctionality of milk-based lactose in its latest news blog.

MEGGLE is one of the world´s leading manufacturers of pharmaceutical grade lactose and co-processed excipients with more than 70 years’ experience.

A close relationship

The article points out that humans have a very close relationship with lactose, starting with breastfeeding of infants.

“Mammals, and especially Primates have optimized their early nutrition towards a highly specialized messenger system diversifying into e.g. immunological, growth stimulating metabolic and nutritional pathways,” it observes.

Lactose as nutrient and ingredient

As a white liquid, milk contains thousands of individual components thoroughly designed throughout evolution to support new life. The article explains that along with fats, minerals, proteins, and water, one of the main components of milk is the specific sugar Lactose, a disaccharide comprising one moiety of glucose and galactose. When extracted as a pure substance, lactose forms a white, water-soluble powder that is both a nutrient and also a very useful pharmaceutical ingredient.

Within food and pharmaceutical applications Lactose fulfils numerous tasks, and is highly appreciated for its convenient handling properties as well as its versatility as an excipient and filling agent. The article points out that pharmaceutical lactose is only indirectly derived from milk, being largely extracted from whey, the main by-product of cheese production.

Leading carrier for oral dosage forms

Lactose has a key role in medication as an integral structural part (excipient) of oral solid dosage forms like capsules, powder preparations, or tablets (see Resources). Through constant modification, lactose excipients have been equipped with excellent compaction, flow and stability properties that can be very precisely tailored to specific applications.

“It guarantees a homogeneous distribution of even highly potent active pharmaceutical ingredients and thus strongly contributes to drug availability and safety,” the article says.

Endless adaptability

The tailoring of lactose qualities, adapted to application form, production machinery, or processes, allows manufacturers to find solutions for almost any formulation challenge. Usefully, lactose can also be intimately combined through co-processing with other excipients, such as cellulose, to optimize performance and functionality (see Resources).

The endless adaptability of pharmaceutical lactose is also demonstrated in its latest manifestations to support continuous production and its adoption to lactose-based drug delivery to the lungs via dry powder inhaler (DPI) technology (see Resources). This latest mode of administration ensures a minimum of side effects and maximum effectiveness. It also carries a further useful side-benefit since DPIs generally do not use environmental harmful propellants, with potential to more than halve the CO₂ footprint of permanent asthma medication.

About MEGGLE

Bavarian-based MEGGLE is one of the world’s experts in co-processing and powder technology. From its roots as a dairy operation in the late 1880’s, MEGGLE has become one of the world’s leading manufacturers of pharmaceutical lactose, supplying the pharma market segment with a broad-based and unique lactose product portfolio.

MEGGLE Business Unit Excipients has harnessed outstanding product quality and intelligent innovation to become a global leader in the manufacture of lactose-based excipients, focusing on products for direct tableting and dry powder inhalation.

A multidisciplinary team of committed and highly qualified people allows MEGGLE clients to benefit from pioneering experience and innovative drive in industrial milk and whey processing. The company constantly strives to develop high-tech, functional products for solid dosage forms and DPI applications, where they can deliver maximum performance.

The company has introduced several pioneering products, notably Tablettose®, the world’s first agglomerated lactose for direct tableting, Cellactose® 80, a pioneering co-processed excipient based on cellulose-lactose for outstanding compression and flow properties and RetaLac®, the first direct compression co-processed excipient using a hypromellose-lactose base for sustained release formulations.

To learn more, visit: https://www.meggle-pharma.com/en/home.html

Resources

Click on MEGGLE: Our heart beats for Lactose to see original article.
Click on Sieved Lactose for capsule powder preparations to learn more.
Click on High-performance lactose powder preparations to learn more.
Click on anhydrous and alpha-lactose monohydrate for Direct Compression tableting  to learn more.
Click on InhaLac® lactose for dry powder inhalation to learn more