InGell®

InGell® is an advanced injectable gel drug depot system, offering un-paralleled retention and release of active pharmaceutical ingredients from a soft, localized drug depot.

InGell® offers the possibility to create novel drug depot products using bioabsorbable polymers, which can simply be mixed with drug compounds or other therapeutic actives.

How does it work?

InGell is based on PCLA-PEG-PCLA tri-block copolymers with aliphatic end groups. There are two polymer sets available:

• Gamma (Injectable hydrogel) - The polymers dissolve in water slightly below ambient temperatures, and will form hydrogels at pre-set body temperatures. Upon injection into soft tissues, the liquid polymer solution rapidly form a soft, macroscopic depot, which physically entraps active ingredients.

• Liquid Polymer (LQP) - LQP is a water-free 100% pure liquid polymer without solvents. Like Gamma, upon injection into soft tissue, it will rapidly form a soft, macroscopic depot, which physically entraps active ingredients.

The polymers are all based on well-known and safe-to-use building blocks for application in humans and animals. No organic solvents are used during the preparation of formulations and are therefore not present in the final product, simplifying registration, allowing combinations with sensitive biologicals, and overall greatly de-risking product development. Release can be tailored from one week to 2-3 months and beyond.

Administration forms

Thin needles and catheters can deliver InGell’s® low viscous liquids in many different locations such as eyes, brain, joints, muscles and in other organs. Depot formation is instantaneous, while slow release of the drugs coincides with the progressing outside-in dissolution (erosion) of the depot. When the payload has been delivered, the depot is gone without a trace. This is ideal for repeat dosing strategies. Also these macroscopic gels do not migrate from the injection site at all.

Compounds and indications

InGell® is suitable for a large variety of active ingredients, such as peptides and small molecules. Sustained delivery of proteins with the InGell® technology is currently under development. InGell® has the ability to solubilize hydrophobic drug molecules. These drugs are solubilized amongst the polymers, greatly enhancing the loading capability of any water-borne formulation. This allows loading of unprecedented levels of small hydrophobic drugs without creating insoluble crystals in situ, up to 25% of the weight of the injected formula.
I-Gell®: these polymers have been end-capped with Iodine-units, making them visible in-situ under micro-CT. This offers safe and reliable opportunities for radiation therapy, positioning of solid tumors and visualization of depots in-situ.
The release rate can be tuned to specific therapeutic applications by adjusting the molecular structure of the polymers used.

Key features and benefits:

• Biocompatible polymers safely disappear at the same rate as the release of the drug

• Technology is suitable for a variety of compounds, such as peptides and small molecules

• Drug delivery at even the most sensitive tissue sites

• Injectable through up to 31G needles

• Stabilization of sensitive compounds, e.g. excellent maintenance of bio-activity of peptides

• Simple and mild formulation in aqueous solutions

• Highest loading capacity of all injectable gel technologies (up to 25%)

• Sustained and localized release for days, weeks to months with limited or no burst

• Soft gels with sufficient strength

• Patented technology

Process features and benefits:

• No pH-drop during dissolution

• Quality consistent manufacturing and cGMP sourcing secured

• Autoclavable for easy sterilization

• Easy processing by mixing solutions and therefore easy scalable

Contact InnoCore for more information or to discuss a specific request.