Tablet coating in the pharmaceutical industry of India

The pharmaceutical industry in India

Producing medical tablets with a coating becomes more and more popular in the pharmaceutical industry nowadays. Customer expectations, pharmaceutical regulations and competition in the market are growing quickly. Therefore, coating tablets is often a required part of the process when drugs are manufactured.

The Indian pharmaceutical market is the third in the global pharmaceutical industry. India exports 20 percent of  the global export in volum e. The sector keeps growing rapidly due to the large amount of scientists and engineers in the market. One of the major medicines supplied by Indian pharmaceutical firms are antiretroviral drugs. This drug is used to reduce the level of HIV in the human body and 80% of it is supplied by Indian firms. The tablets also contain a specific coating. Due to India’s presence in the industry, tablet coating is very popular among the tablet manufacturers in the country.

This article will explain the different aspects of tablet coating, the manufacturing processes and tablet coating manufacturers in India.

8 reasons why medication pills are coated

As almost every human being is an end-consumer of the pharmaceutical industry, you might wonder why different medicines are manufactured as tablets, capsules, powders or even vaccines. It often has to do with the drug itself and whether or not the human body can absorb it in the specific form. Every medication has a purpose to solve one or multiple complaints of the end-consumer. However, the human body is developed in such a way that when a drug is consumed, your body is likely to fight the chemicals entering your body. In other words, breaking down the effectiveness of the drug. Tablet coating however, can protect the medication when consumed and will dissolve when the tablet gets into contact with, for example acids in the gastric system.

Pills are provided with a tablet coating to ensure that the medicine is easier to swallow by the end consumer

The main reasons why tablet coating is used in the pharmaceutical industry are;

1. Masking: the color, odor or taste of the tablet
2. Contamination: Reduces cross contamination
3. Easy swallowing: encapsulating the tablet with a smooth surface
4. Protecting: to enhance the expiration date
5. Release of the drug: The control the release of the drug in the human body
6. Body protection: In order to protect the gastric environment of the human body
7. Mix drugs: To incorporate another drug to fight the side effects of the original drugs
8. Identification: Medication becomes ease to identify by manufacturers, pharmacists and patients

The disadvantages of applying coating on medicines

The reasons mentioned above are beneficial for the human body when medication is consumed. However, there are also a few disadvantages when it comes to tablet coating.

• The costs of production might increase due to the required coating
• It may increase the size and weight of the tablet
• Expertise to coat tablets is needed

Besides the downsides mentioned, every manufacturer and pharmacist in India need to operate according to the regulations in India. The Indian Pharmaceutical industry is regulated by three organisations. The Central Drugs Standards Control Organization, which is supervised by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority and The Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals. The major complication in the industry is that new regulations and pricing policies are impacting the growth of India’s pharma sector.

Different techniques for coating tablets

The process of coating tablets can be done with a variety of different techniques. Because most tablets and pills dissolve when they get in contact with fluid, the application of the coating is often done by spraying the tablets, while heating them at the same time. The coating will then form a thin film that sticks to the tablet. Depending on the type of coating and the medicine that needs to be coated, application processes vary between a single application and multiple layers. To help you gain knowledge about the massive amount of processes in coating pharmaceutical tablets, we selected the most important ones and mentioned a brief explanation;

Tablet coating manufacturers in India

As mentioned above, India plays a major role in the global pharmaceutical industry. Therefore, a high amount of manufacturers are located in the country as well. To outsource the tablet coating process, one should look for an applicator that can carry out the task for you. Below we have selected some of the applicators and manufacturers in India. If you are in need of a specialist, please do not hesitate to contact us.