Research & Development
Drugs are never pure agents, but are formulations of active components. An optimized pharmaceutical form must be found, depending on the property of the agent, its area of application and use. Galenic development – i.e., the combination of the respective agent with various additives – is extremely important to ensure the efficacy and safety of a drug. For instance, drugs differ in form, they are categorized as semisolid, liquid and gaseous, with numerous variants existing within these groups (e.g., pills, film-coated tablets, soft and hard gelatin capsules, granules, suppositories, ointments (oil-in-water or water-in-oil emulsions), injectable solutions etc.).
The additives play a decisive role in the release of the active component on the target. For instance, they can be used to release the agent in the stomach (acidic environment) or the small intestines (alkaline environment) and to schedule the release. A delayed release is called retardation.