Juniper Pharma Services, a subsidiary of Juniper Pharmaceuticals, has reinforced its early stage topical and semi-solids capability by investing in a Becomix homogenizer mixer.

The installation and validation of the new equipment extends the company’s ability to manufacture creams, ointments, and semi-solids to support clients’ clinical trial needs and enables it to efficiently deal with more complex formulations.

Used primarily for the production of topical drug products, the Becomix RW30 model homogenizer gives the contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) the scalability to now supply products for Phase III studies.

The move by Juniper Pharma Services to make a significant investment into its topical and semi-solids equipment follows an increase in demand from its clients for development, processing scale-up, and clinical manufacture.

“This addition to our capabilities enables us to develop topical products on a larger scale and to cater for our clients’ supply needs from first-in-man studies up to and including Phase III, with a commercially replicable process in place,” said Claire Madden-Smith, senior vice president, Juniper Pharma Services. “We are no stranger to aiding clients with challenging formulations and so the installation of Becomix simply bolsters our ability to support drug development companies that are developing creams, ointments, and semi-solid products, both simple and complex.”

With an integrated electronic batch report system in place, the intuitive Becomix is designed to reduce operator input and automate the homogenization process.

This is the latest major equipment initiative by the CDMO, which recently announced a substantial investment in its spray drying capabilities. This followed the strengthening of its early stage capsule filling expertise with the expansion of its Xcelodose powder micro-dosing system at the end of last year.

The CDMO’s GMP clinical manufacturing capabilities are based at its site in Nottingham and are supported by its materials characterization, analytical, and IP consultancy services.