Ashland unveils comprehensive excipients business at CPhI 2011

FRANKFURT, Germany – Ashland Specialty Ingredients, a commercial unit of Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH), is today showcasing its expanded excipient portfolio and global R&D capabilities that support the formulation development goals of pharmaceutical companies. At the Convention on Pharmaceutical Ingredients and Intermediates (CPhI), Ashland is outlining how it plans to support formulators of pharmaceuticals with expertise in a larger range of formulation approaches and manufacturing techniques, as well as with a larger portfolio of proven excipients to address today’s drug formulation challenges.

“The former International Specialty Products (ISP) and Ashland Aqualon Functional Ingredients businesses are now combined as one business – Ashland Specialty Ingredients – to provide the most comprehensive resources available from one excipient supplier,” said Jeffrey Wolff, group vice president, Pharmaceutical & Nutrition Specialties, Ashland Specialty Ingredients. “Ashland now has virtually all of the assets and resources it needs to respond to the most important drug formulation challenges facing the pharmaceutical industry. With one of the world’s most diversified portfolios of pharmaceutically acceptable excipients, and an R&D team focused on all of the major formulation trends, we can help drug makers increase their success on formulation projects.”

In outlining Ashland’s expanded offerings, Wolff cited some of the most important formulation priorities of drug makers within the past five years:

•  Improving the efficacy of poorly soluble drugs;
•  Increasing use of controlled-release technology;
•  Orally disintegrating tablet forms for improved patient compliance ; and
•  Continuous manufacturing of oral dosage forms.

Wolff said the combination of Ashland and ISP has positioned the company to better help pharmaceutical formulators address each of these concerns. “With all of these formulation trends taking place simultaneously, a need exists for a company such as Ashland to provide a range of excipient solutions,” said Wolff. “A great deal of research taking place at Ashland today will form the basis of technical solutions that address these formulation and manufacturing trends. We believe formulators now have a comprehensive source for help in achieving better outcomes, whatever the formulation challenge.”

Ashland Specialty Ingredients offers industry-leading products, technologies and resources for solving formulation and product performance challenges in key markets including personal care, pharmaceutical, food and beverage, coatings and energy. Using natural, synthetic and semi-synthetic polymers derived from plant and seed extract, cellulose ethers and vinyl pyrrolidones, Ashland Specialty Ingredients offers comprehensive and innovative solutions for today's demanding consumer and industrial applications.

In more than 100 countries, the people of Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH) provide the specialty chemicals, technologies and insights to help customers create new and improved products for today and sustainable solutions for tomorrow. Our chemistry is at work every day in a wide variety of markets and applications, including architectural coatings, automotive, construction, energy, food and beverage, personal care, pharmaceutical, tissue and towel, and water treatment. Visit www.ashland.com to see the innovations we offer through our four commercial units – Ashland Specialty Ingredients, Ashland Water Technologies, Ashland Performance Materials and Ashland Consumer Markets (Valvoline).