The patent pending invention, called ARTcaps, reportedly resists acidic conditions in the stomach and facilitates release of the bioactives. Based on a gel polymer structure the technology is applicable to a wide variety of fill materials and does not require additional processing after encapsulation like other enteric softgels, said the company.
According to Robinson Pharma, the technology outperforms other enteric processes and produces a high resistance gelatin shell, which could be used for nutritional products, such as high strength omega 3 concentrates.
“The ARTcaps innovation is compatible with the standards of many quality focused dietary supplement marketers that had concerns about the ingredients used in other types of enteric coatings or were concerned about the robustness of other enteric systems,” said Kenn Israel, vice president of marketing.
“An added benefit is that the new process is much greener than older technologies as it removes an entire production step and saves almost one third of the energy required to make enteric released products.”
Both clear and colored softgels that are USP compliant for enteric release can be produced using the technology, said the company.
“The formulation composition and production process resulting in ARTcaps was achieved by the Robinson Pharma technical team to meet the expectations of a new innovation based business model in Robinson Pharma” said Emadeldin Hassan, PhD, general manager and chief scientific officer.
“Our team worked tirelessly to achieve this important milestone for our company. This is our first technological development and our first step in building the company’s intellectual property.”
Changing lanes
Tuong Nguyen, the company’s founder, president, and CEO said the innovation represented a new chapter in the business and the opening of new markets.
“While we traditionally followed the leaders in dietary supplement market, now is the time that RPI will, through innovation, commitment to quality, and focus on providing maximum value to its customers, emerge as a leader in the delivery system design field.
“We have, for the past few years, focused on being the largest and best priced supplier, and we have been successful. Our strategy of investing in people, systems, and equipment has matured. We will maintain these characteristics and build upon our success with a renewed focus on uncompromised quality and product innovation as a way to lead the market,” said Nguyen.