TFF Pharmaceuticals has leased a plant in Austin, Texas to expand development of its thin film freezing technology, which it says could increase the bioavailability of large molecule drugs.

The expansion, of which is self-funded, but no specific financial details have been disclosed, sees TFF lease a 3,500 square-foot research and development plant located in Austin, Texas.

“We decided to expand our facilities now to meet the current demand and increased interest in our technology. The TFF business model is a two-pronged strategy of inhouse development programs and a pharma licensing platform. In the last few years, we have advanced our internal pipeline while expanding our partnered programs,” John Koleng, vice president of product development and manufacturing at TFF told BioProcess Insider.

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Additionally, the expansion will add a dedicated lab for downstream processing of products created using thin film freezing (TFF).

“Thin film freezing technology is a powder engineering technique that allows for the transformation of both existing compounds and new chemical entities into dry powder formulations exhibiting unique characteristics and benefits,” said Koleng.

“The TFF process involves dissolving a drug or drugs in a solvent system, and then rapidly freezing the liquid in a controlled fashion, resulting in highly porous, large surface area, low-density particles. The solvent is then removed by freeze drying. The TFF technology, for example, can convert a drug into a fine dry powder, with a high concentration of active drug, that can be delivered directly to the lung by inhalation. This limits systemic toxicity associated with oral dosing and increases therapeutic response time. The technology also allows for alternative options for oral and systemic drug delivery, including delivery through the nose (intranasal), parenteral (injection/infusion), eyes (intraocular) and skin (topical).”

Furthermore, the expansion of its in-house and partnered research, and applications in biologics will  provide significantly more space to accommodate larger equipment to enable scale-up and manufacturing, as well as to manufacture materials for preclinical studies.

“The acquisition of larger capacity freeze dryers and support equipment is planned. In addition, downstream process equipment to facility dosage form finishing is expected to expand our existing development capability.  These acquisitions are expected to provide more efficient and rapid product development to enable projects to progress towards clinical and commercial endpoints more quickly,” Koleng said.

Through the lease of this facility, Austin becomes the central hub of TFF’s research operations and allows the firm to sustain relationships and research partnerships with various academic institutions in the area.