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Tablets & Capsules July 2017 31 many people looking to buy ibupro- fen are curious about how it's made. In certain cases, it might be an opportunity." He said functional foods, alternative remedies, and con- dition-specific supplements look to be a better fit. "There are unbeliev- able growth opportunities for alter- native inactive ingredients such as those offered by Ribus." In fact, they can sometimes be listed in the label claim. "We've done that in some cases where customers want an absolutely clean product. For instance, we're able to incorporate the Ribus ingredients into the supple- ment facts as an actual nutrient-car- rying ingredient," Finamore said. "That means the inactive ingredients outside the supplement facts panel become nonexistent. It's super-clean to design a label that way, and we and others are taking advantage of that. It's challenging to design a product and label that way, but it also satisfies our customers' demand for a cleaner label product because everything in there has a functional purpose." T&C Gemini Pharmaceuticals, Commack, NY. Tel. 631 543 3334 Website: www.geminipharm.com Ribus, St. Louis, MO. Tel. 314 727 4287 Website: www.ribus.com Finamore said that using the ingredients in existing products requires some effort because it's not always a one-for-one swap. "We pre- fer engineering products from the ground up using the suite of Ribus materials when possible because it gives us better predictability and allows us to create some interesting nutritional products," he said. "It also allowed us to introduce our cus- tomers to a new product develop- ment pipeline. Once our customers have the confidence in the Ribus items through our expertise—and see the value-added of using them—we are usually asked to go back and re- engineer existing items," he said. "Our partnership with Ribus certainly has offered us a point of differentia- tion as a contract manufacturer." He estimates that Gemini has developed more than 500 products using the ingredients. "We've proba- bly introduced more Ribus ingredi- ents into finished products than any other manufacturer. We certainly have more products in the market- place using the Ribus family of prod- ucts than any other manufacturer." Gemini was the first company to be named a Ribus certified contract manufacturer. Super-clean labels: No inactives "Initially there was some resistance because of the unknowns, but now [customers] are much more open to us suggesting novel materials, alter- native formulations, and different ingredients than they were 2 years ago," Finamore said. "We can elimi- nate traditional inactive ingredients without sacrificing the quality or effi- cacy of the formulations." The cost premium of the ingredients hasn't been a problem, either. "Ribus mater- ial is little more expensive than tradi- tional excipients, but it's not the pre- dominant cost driver in any product we're using. So that objection was overcome by simply showing our customers the engineering and mar- keting benefits." Finamore said it's not clear whether alternative excipients will appeal to manufacturers of OTC drug products. "I'm not sure how The Magnesium Stearate Handbook Although typically used in very small amounts, magnesium stearate is said to be the most ubiquitous solid dosage excipient. Patrick C. Okoye's book, subtitled "A Recommended Companion Guide for Powder Technologists," covers magnesium stearate's unique properties in tablet- ting and powder rheology, including polymorphism and pseudo-polymor- phism and its effects on tablet hard- ness and dissolution. The foreword is from Dale Natoli of Natoli Engineering, a supplier of compres- sion tooling, tablet presses, and accessories. "This book offers the reader insight into the physical and chemical properties of a tablet com- ponent all too often overlooked in the design of the formulation." The 90-page book is available in print and electronically. For more information, visit www.magnesium-stearate.com. Tablet's & Capsules 2018 Buyer's Guide Contact your sales representative to see how you can be part of Tablets & Capsules 2018 Buyer's Guide. tc@cscpub.com