LTS - Transdermal Therapeutic Patches, Advanced Oral Wafer Medication and Estradiol Matrix HRT Patches

LTS Lohmann Therapie-Systeme is one of the world's leading suppliers of transdermal and oral systems for the international pharmaceutical industry.

Our technology relies on historical medical product manufacturing techniques. Coating and drying technologies have been developed into a unique pharmaceutical technology for all forms of application with thin-film elements.

TRANSDERMAL THERAPEUTIC PATCH SYSTEMS

Transdermal system concepts were once divided between matrix systems and reservoir / membrane type concepts, but this strict separation is no longer possible, as multiple types of different transdermal system designs exist.

The main functionalities – adhesion, reservoir function, driving force and rate control – can be assigned to different substructures of a transdermal therapeutic patch, but are also influenced by the human skin.

LTS supports all transdermal therapeutic patch system variations, focusing on the requirements of the individual drug candidate.

ORAL MEDICAL WAFERS

LTS provides flat, film or wafer-like medication for application in the oral cavity. At first sight, it appears identical to traditional oral tablets, coated tablets, capsules or drops, but it is actually fundamentally different.

With conventional systems, the mouth is merely the entry point through which medication is routed into the gastro-intestinal tract. LTS' oral wafer medication systems, however, use the mouth as a site of both application and drug action.

We have three different oral wafer medication systems to provide the ideal solution for your specific requirements. Depending on the type of oral medical wafer, it is possible to generate different pharmacokinetic profiles, and avoid undesirable side effects in the gastro-intestinal tract.

The flat dosage form can vary between 2cm² and 8cm² in area, and 20µm and 500µm in thickness. The drug load per oral medical wafer depends on the physicochemical properties of the drug.

LTS' oral wafer medication is applied on the tongue, gingiva, teeth, buccal region or upper palate, and is absorbed in the oral cavity (the gastric regions). It provides both systemic and local action.

ADVANCED ORAL WAFER MEDICATION PRODUCTS

There are three types of LTS oral medical wafers:

• Flash release wafer
• Mucoadhesive melt-away wafer
• Mucoadhesive sustained release wafer

ADVANCED ORAL MEDICAL WAFER ADVANTAGES

LTS' oral medication wafer systems offer many advantages, including:

• Therapy restriction of local effects in the oral cavity (for example those indicated by local lesions)
• Effects in the entire oral cavity, such as mouth refreshment or disinfection
• Swift systemic effects after absorption through the oral mucosae
• Discreet and easy application (no additional water needed)
• Buccal absorption that bypasses hepatic first path metabolism
• Improved bioavailability, allowing lower doses

Oral wafer medication systems therefore offer a broad range of possible applications for pharmaceutical products, veterinary products and oral care products.

At first sight, the mouth appears a simple cavity for drug administration. However, this cavity offers several sites of application for oral wafer medication systems, which can significantly affect the bioavailability of any active principle.

The mucosa of the oral cavity provides a readily accessible and acceptable route for transmucosal delivery. In addition, the short turnover time of the oral cavity's epithelial cells relative to the skin helps drug absorption by changing permeability characteristics.

Drug absorption in the oral cavity occurs predominantly through the nonkeratinized buccal and sublingual mucosae. Blood flow to the oral mucosae is provided by a network of capillaries.

A diffusion of an active substance into the network of microcirculation allows direct access to the systemic circulation. Drug molecules absorbed by the oral mucosae thus avoid 'first-pass' metabolism.

ESTRADIOL MATRIX HRT PATCHES

LTS has developed different matrix Transdermal Therapeutic Systems (TTSs) in cooperation with several international pharmaceutical companies. They feature key customised system properties, including physicochemical improvement of drug flux, flexible system geometry, and prevention of adhesion of TTSs in pouch.

Estradiol, as the most important natural estrogen, can be delivered most efficiently (and devoid of sudden changes of blood level) by HRT patches that use a transdermal method. LTS currently manufactures both mono HRT patches, and combinations with progestogens.