Roquette Inaugurates High-Technology Pharmaceutical Application Development Center

13 Oct 2014 --- Roquette, the world’s 5th largest starch producer, inaugurates a new pharmaceutical Application Development Center at its site at Lestrem, Pas de Calais – France.

For the Roquette Group, a global player in the transformation of plant-based raw materials, the new center will help consolidate its position as a leading supplier of excipients and active ingredients to the pharmaceutical industry. The dedicated laboratory of 800 m2 benefits from the latest technologies and a team of about a dozen experts. It reinforces Roquette’s relations with its pharmaceutical customers.

Roquette's new pharmaceutical Application Development Center will enable the development of new solutions for the pharmaceutical industry at global level.

Designed as a place to share expertise, the new pharmaceutical Application Development Center will enable the development of new solutions for the pharmaceutical industry at global level. The state-of-theart technologies in this laboratory, such as compression, film coating or granulation, will ensure the development of new galenic forms. They will also provide expertise and know-how in the science of pharmaceutical formulation.

The Application Development Center responds to the latest requirements and takes into account the highest standards of safety, hygiene and quality in this domain of activity. By working with the Group’s laboratories for research, control and analysis, the new pharmaceutical development center will reinforce existing collaborative relationships and help develop new partnerships. It will also provide technical support and act as a training center both for ROQUETTE’s internal teams and its customers.

For more than 40 years, Roquette has carefully listened to the needs and expectations of its pharmaceutical customers. The Group has become a key supplier of excipients and active ingredients, the two main components of medicinal drugs.

Roquette generates value from its plant-based raw materials to develop and offer numerous galenic forms to patients: syrups, drinkable solutions, tablets, capsules, powders, etc. The excipients produced by Roquette are designed to facilitate industrial production and cover a broad range of pharmaceutical applications. They allow medications to be taken in ways that are appreciated by patients (from infants to seniors, from young children to adults, or patients in hospitals).

One of the latest innovations of the Group applies to a galenic form that is currently generating a lot of excitement. Roquette has developed an excipient for orodispersible tablets. This new form melts directly in the mouth without the need to drink any water, providing immediate action for the patient.

Isabelle Routier, Vice-President – Application Development Centers for Food Nutrition Health, says: “With an annual global growth rate of nearly 5%, the market for excipients offers excellent opportunities as well as numerous challenges in terms of formulation. This new pharmaceutical Application Development Center is proof of Roquette’s commitment in the health sector. The technologies acquired, such as this latest generation of compression simulator, as well as the expertise of the dedicated team allow us to pursue our innovations and respond to the expectations of this highly demanding sector in terms of quality, safety and performance. Thanks to this center, Roquette again demonstrates its ambition to establish privileged long-term partnerships with its customers.”

Guillaume Fichet, Director of the Roquette Lestrem site, adds: “The creation of this new Application Development Center on the Group’s largest site at Lestrem enables synergies with all of the Group’s research laboratories and production units at the site. Its ambition however is global. Located at the heart of Europe, this Application Development Center is in direct contact with the three other major regions of the Group (North America, Asia and India) and will serve our pharmaceuticals customers throughout the entire world.”

The new investment consolidates the Group’s leading position in Food, Nutrition and Health, and more particularly in pharmaceutical excipients.