Aesica Pharmaceuticals, a global contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), has partnered with pharmaceutical company QRxPharma to globally promote QRxPharma’s proprietary Stealth Beadlets abuse deterrence technology.

Aesica will promote the Stealth Beadlets technology for use in controlled drugs formulations. It will enter into fee-for-service contracts with customers for development of the new Abuse Deterrent Formulations (ADF) of specific drugs, while QRxPharma will negotiate license terms.

Stealth Beadlets was developed for the MOXDUO controlled release formulation for the treatment of chronic pain. This program is ready for phase II studies and already has shown that Stealth Beadlets, incorporated into the company’s delayed release technology, provide a potential once-a-day to twice-a-day formulation. 

Stealth Beadlets can be incorporated into almost any potentially abused drug (e.g. opioids, amphetamines and sedatives) sold in solid dosage forms (e.g. tablet, capsule or sachet). It provides resistance against the extraction of active ingredients if crushed, solubilized or heated. Stealth Beadlets have no effect on the active ingredient release profile and consist entirely of patient-safe, low-cost excipients that have Generally Regarded As Safe (GRAS) status with the FDA.