The amorphous solid dispersion (ASD) formulation strategy is commonly used to enhance the bioavailability of poorly soluble drugs. However, these drugs are often hydrophobic and require a substantial amount of polymer to stabilize the amorphous drug and facilitate release. As a consequence, one of the limitations of this formulation strategy is low drug loading. This is because a common observation with increasing drug loading of ASD formulations is a corresponding decline in release performance. Consequently, there has been significant interest in developing strategies to increase the drug loading of amorphous formulations without compromising drug release performance and the supersaturation advantage.

In this webinar, we will discuss co-precipitation as a strategy to increase the drug loading of amorphous dispersion formulations while ensuring good drug release. Our focus will center on exploring the interplay between processing conditions, particle surface composition, and drug release performance. We will discuss how the selection of formulation and processing parameters influences the particle morphology and bulk density of these particles. We will further discuss the advantages of using a hierarchical particle strategy to generate co-precipitated amorphous dispersions and how these advantages contribute to improved in vivo drug release performance.

Tze Ning Hiew, Ph.D.

Tze Ning Hiew is an assistant professor at the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Experimental Therapeutics at the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy. She received her Bachelor of Science (Pharmacy) and Ph.D. degrees from the National University of Singapore, Singapore. After her Ph.D., she was a postdoctoral researcher at the Purdue University College of Pharmacy. Research in her group focuses on particle engineering to formulate and manufacture specialized oral dosage forms. Tze Ning has received a number of awards including the Excellent Teaching Assistant Award (2016), IPEC Foundation Graduate Student Award (2017), Patrick DeLuca Emerging Researcher Award (2020), and the PhRMA Foundation Faculty Starter Grant in Drug Delivery (2024). She also serves on the editorial boards of AAPS PharmSciTech and the International Journal of Pharmaceutics.