Pneumatic dry granulation: potential to improve roller compaction technology in drug manufacture.

INTRODUCTION: Solid dosage form manufacture still remains the most common in the production of pharmaceutical products. Established granulation processes can benefit from novel technical improvements, which can in turn enhance the behavior and properties of the process intermediates, that is, granules. These improvements in the manufacturing process can ultimately shorten development times, provide processing solutions for challenging materials and improve quality of drug delivery systems. AREAS COVERED: The aim of this review is to give the reader an overview of the latest trends in research with regard to roller compaction technology. Pneumatic dry granulation is also discussed as a new development with the potential to improve and extend the use of dry granulation processes, which can result in a substantial contribution to drug delivery system development and drug product manufacture. EXPERT OPINION: Dry granulation techniques, and more specifically roller compaction, can provide many advantages over the more established wet granulation techniques. There are still problems with roller compaction such as high amounts of fines and poor flow of granulate. Technical innovations that improve existing processes will have a considerable impact on development times and contribute to improved material processability and behavior of the end product. Pneumatic dry granulation has the potential to provide such alternatives.