Joanna Cosgrove01.01.08
Emerging Edible Films
Dissolving strips have made minor supplement inroads, but advancing technologies point to progress.
By
Joanna Cosgrove
Online Editor
Fast dissolving edible films first burst on the scene a few years ago with the launch of Listerine Pocketpaks breath fresheners and have since migrated into the cold remedy segment. Typically packaged in small plastic containers or in single sachets that fit easily into the pocket or purse, edible films are ultra portable and convenient, especially for children and the elderly who may have difficulty swallowing pills. While there have been a few supplement marketers who’ve taken advantage of this dosing medium, there have been no standout film format supplements — but that may soon change.
First things first: Not all nutraceuticals are suitable for use with edible films. “They are very well suited for low dose actives,” explained Marie Garnich, vice president global business development and sales of Watson Inc.’s Film Technology Division, located in West Haven, CT. “The dose of the active needs to be relatively low — typically the film strip can carry 30% of the active ingredient. This equates to approximately 30 mg in a 100 mg strip.”
“Film strips would be a great alternative dosage form for a low dose, unique active ingredient,” she continued. “Ingredients such as vitamin B12, chromium picolinate, melatonin and possibly CoQ10 are good examples of active ingredients that would be suitable to soluble films.”
Moreover, added Trevor Morgan, CEO of U.K.-based BioFilm Ltd., “The ideal nutraceuticals for inclusion in edible films are ones that are best consumed during the course of the day — for instance actives that offer an energy surge or that help to suppress appetite or speed up your metabolism.”
Additionally, he said, “Actives that are well suited to being absorbed through the oral cavity are also ideal for this delivery system, since traditional methods such as tablets and capsules are absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract and can be exposed to digestive enzymes and stomach acids which can reduce their potency.”
The limit of the technology is the level of active that can be applied and carried on one mouth-sized strip. “This will depend on the active ingredient that you are trying to incorporate and the compatibility of the edible film forming polymer,” noted Mr. Morgan. “The current limit on actives is around 40 mg in one single strip, but remember you can take a number of strips during the course of the day and therefore this multiplies the amount of delivered active.”
Both Ms. Garnich and Mr. Morgan agreed that although films are an innovative and reliable dosage vehicle, they are not going to replace tried and true tablets and capsules for a number of reasons. For starters, edible films will probably be best used to differentiate a brand — for example, a slow-dissolving melatonin strip that could be taken before bedtime, or a strip that both delivers immune-boosting vitamin C and soothes a sore throat.
The RDIs of some vitamins and minerals also pose a challenge. “It would be very difficult to deliver a ‘Once Daily’ multivitamin in a film strip as the vitamin levels are too great for the film technology,” said Ms. Garnich.
The unpalatable tastes of some nutraceuticals are also an issue and require the use of masking agents and sweeteners. “There are some taste masking technologies that can be used for unpleasant tasting actives,” she explained, noting that Watson’s more than 50 years in the developing and manufacturing of soluble films include capabilities to handle numerous actives that are unpleasant in taste. “Caffeine, for instance, is a very bitter active, but with our technology we have done a great job masking that bitterness. We have developed a very pleasant tasting caffeine filmstrip, which contains16 mg of caffeine.”
One of the most exciting aspects of this technology is the other developmental avenues it opens. “Soluble film technology can go beyond quick dissolve strips,” said a forward-looking Ms. Garnich. “With this technology we can also make mucoadhesive patches for local delivery and topical films to deliver active ingredients to the skin.”
European Film Expansion
In a move that demonstrates the sheer potential this delivery system stands to offer the nutraceuticals segment, BioFilm Ltd. was recently acquired by London-based Tate & Lyle Ventures and Scottish Enterprise’s Scottish Venture Fund, forming a new company called BioFilm Holdings Limited. BioFilm Limited is a subsidiary of Devro plc and the only fully integrated manufacturer in Western Europe of dissolvable/edible films that carry active ingredients designed for use in the nutraceutical and medical markets.
According to the company, the North American edible film market is well established and the European market is beginning to emerge, with some analysts estimating that the total market for edible films could reach $500 million this year and $2 billon by 2012. David Atkinson, managing partner, Tate & Lyle Ventures said, “The edible film market is fast-growing, particularly in North America, and enjoys an excellent fit with our Fund’s focus on biomaterials. We see potential in the medical/ drug delivery market where dissolvable films allow fast delivery of active ingredients. BioFilm also provides a unique opportunity for us to enter the European market, which is currently small but we believe is likely to follow North American trends.”