Yuyu Pharma (000220.KS) has developed a technology that can hold different forms of medicine in a single capsule, strengthening its capabilities in combination drug development. The company said the technology addresses interactions between ingredients and difficulties in controlling drug release rates, two constraints that have limited combination drug development, broadening the possibilities for medicines that bring together a range of ingredients.
Yuyu Pharma said on the 19th that it has developed YUNICAP, a combination dosage form platform technology that can integrate different dosage forms such as tablets, soft capsules and pellets into a single capsule, and has completed trademark registration with the Korean Intellectual Property Office.
The name YUNICAP combines Yuyu, "uni" for unification and "polycap." Its core feature is a design that places different dosage forms inside one hard capsule while keeping each of them independently separated.
Conventional combination drugs based on a single tablet have faced physical and chemical interactions in the process of merging several ingredients into one form, as well as difficulty in controlling release rates for each ingredient. Limited freedom in dosage form design also restricted the range of ingredient combinations.
To address these issues, YUNICAP keeps each ingredient as an independent dosage form while integrating them into a single capsule. This reduces interactions between ingredients and extends the scope of development to dosage form combinations that were difficult to achieve with conventional combination drugs.
Notably, the technology can deliver a variety of combinations in one hard capsule, including tablet with tablet, tablet with pellet, tablet with soft capsule, and soft capsule with pellet. Because drugs in different forms can be developed as a single combination product, the company said flexibility in dosage form design has improved.
Another advantage is that release rates can be set differently for each ingredient. Since each dosage form can be designed independently, immediate release, in which a drug is released quickly, and sustained release, in which it is released gradually over a set period, can be implemented together in one capsule. The company expects this to be used in developing a range of combination drugs tailored to the characteristics of each medicine.