HORGEN, Switzerland -- (BUSINESS WIRE) --

Dow Wolff Cellulosics (DWC) today launched “FYI: Formulation Yields Innovation”, a new program highlighting the importance of the design and formulation of pharmaceutical excipients in driving the innovation of new or enhanced products. FYI will include transformational internal initiatives and collaborative customer programs designed to elevate and accentuate excipients in addressing key market needs.

“The role of inactive ingredients, coatings, controlled release technologies, and matrix systems is becoming more important as companies face their biggest challenges: cost and time pressures, product safety considerations, and product life-cycle demands,” said Lucrèce Foufopoulos, Global Marketing Director, Dow Wolff Cellulosics. “The launch of the ‘FYI: Formulation Yields Innovation’ initiative will allow DWC to extend the impact of our technical expertise and portfolio of products to help our customers achieve a range of formulation advances.”

“FYI: Formulation Yields Innovation" is built upon the following three main pillars that are central to addressing the challenges that DWC’s customers face:

• Value Creation/Cost Containment: In the highly competitive and increasingly global pharmaceutical market, there is mounting pressure on research and development (R&D) programs to shorten development time and get products to market faster. This demand results in the need for high-performance functional excipients and advanced film coating solutions. DWC helps drug manufacturers create significant efficiencies, improve formulation and delivery flexibility, and support cost containment — all of which add value to their business and to the customers they serve.

Recently launched METHOCEL™ DC Premium Grade, a hypromellose excipient for direct compression of controlled release applications, provides better powder flow while maintaining key drug formulation attributes, such as tablet hardness and controlled release drug performance. By eliminating the wet granulation process, METHOCEL™ DC Premium Grade can result in approximately 30 percent manufacturing cost savings and faster scale-up compared to traditional tablet manufacturing processes. This product is exclusively distributed by the Controlled Release Alliance DWC formed with Colorcon in 2007. The Alliance offers tremendous value to the pharmaceutical formulator.

DWC will soon release another METHOCEL™ excipient – METHOCEL™ Premium VLV – as a new coating technology that can reduce coating time by 25 to up to 54 percent compared to METHOCEL™ Premium E-LV. METHOCEL™ Premium VLV enables faster coating time because less water and other solvents need to be evaporated. It enables higher solids loading of the coating solution by up to 52 percent, while maintaining sprayable viscosity, and increases manufacturing capability resulting in improved productivity.

Another advancement is the DWC foam granulation technology – a faster, simpler, and more cost-effective process than traditional wet granulation, changing the way pharmaceutical tablets have been manufactured for the last 50 years.

• Drug Safety/Drug Efficacy: DWC excipients can aid in drug safety and efficacy through formulations that enable solutions such as extended/controlled release properties that may address issues of adverse events and tolerability for some pharmaceuticals. The company’s excipients are fully certified, with an excellent safety record, meeting and exceeding the requirements of US, Japanese and European Pharmacopeias, and the requirements of the Food Chemicals Codex and the International Codex Alimentarius.

• Product Life-Cycle Management: DWC offers a range of versatile and multi-functional products that help customers manage and extend their product portfolio life-cycle such as with the development of extended and controlled release applications. Working with formulators and manufacturers, DWC enables quality by design through customized products that meet pipeline needs, including controlled release for many therapeutic classes, coatings, capsules, foam granulation, oral films, mucosal bio-adhesives, binders, fillers, and more.

“At DWC, we have a long history of innovation, deep expertise in product design, and unparalleled quality and reliability, making us a uniquely valuable partner for our customers,” said Bob Maughon, R&D Director, Dow Wolff Cellulosics. “We are looking forward to bringing the ‘FYI: Formulation Yields Innovation’ initiative to our customers, continuing our collaborative efforts to help them address formulation challenges and find solutions that drive innovation.”

About Dow Wolff Cellulosics

Dow Wolff Cellulosics is a global leader and pioneer in Cellulose Ethers and preferred development partner for manufacturers and suppliers in the food and pharmaceutical markets, and in other industrial specialty applications. It supplies high-performance, cellulose-based products and formulation know-how to help customers innovate and differentiate in highly-regulated markets. Cellulosics and their derivatives are produced from renewable raw materials, mainly wood pulp and cotton, sourced primarily from suppliers that implement certified sustainable forestry practices. Ranging from healthier food ingredients and formulations, to enhanced pharmaceutical delivery, most products containing Cellulosics help to make improvements in the daily lives of billions of people. Dow Wolff Cellulosics is a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company, employing 1,200 people across more than 9 sites and 15 assets, with 6 cGMPs, serving customers in around 160 countries. More details can be found at www.dowwolffcellulosics.com.

About Dow

Dow combines the power of science and technology with the "Human Element" to passionately innovate what is essential to human progress. The Company connects chemistry and innovation with the principles of sustainability to help address many of the world's most challenging problems such as the need for clean water, renewable energy generation and conservation, and increasing agricultural productivity. Dow's diversified industry leading portfolio of specialty chemical, advanced materials, agrosciences and plastics businesses delivers a broad range of technology-based products and solutions to customers in approximately 160 countries and in high growth sectors such as electronics, water, energy, coatings and agriculture. In 2009, Dow had annual sales of $45 billion and employed approximately 52,000 people worldwide. The Company's more than 5,000 products are manufactured at 214 sites in 37 countries across the globe. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.

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