THC (cannabis) tablet formulations

The use of cannabis within the pharmaceutical industry has proven to be of great value, amongst others for the relieve of pain.

As a global leader in excipient solutions DFE Pharma is recognised as a true partner to the pharmaceutical industry helping people around the world leading healthier lives. We believe that we contribute to our customers success by providing market driven solutions which enhance their effectiveness and efficiency.

In general there are two main methods to create cannabis (THC) tablets:

• Having cannabis oil solubilized in a lipid (oily/fatty) system to stabilize the THC (THC is water insoluble and reacts with oxygen), which is than tableted using lactose and microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) formulations. Typically the THC part is around 30% (weight for weight) and anhydrous lactose and MCC (eg 40% and 26%) can be added with 4% disintegrants to make tablets.

• Stabilize the THC into a sugar matrix by lyophilization (using for eg trehalose). This stabilized powder (like a fly in amber) is then mixed with MCC or anhydrous lactose to make a tablet.

In the cannabis home industry and the traditional Chinese / Japanese medicine the cannabis (THC) is stabilized by decarboxylisation (basically heating/drying the herbs) and milling at low temperature. This can than easily be mixed with anhydrous lactose to make tablets. 

Based upon the above, below products can be used for production, but differentiation can be made to suit individual cases:

THC/Lipids system	Lyophilisated THC	Decarboxylated THC
Filler: Anhydrous lactose or anhydrous / mcc 102 mixtures	Filler: Anhydrous lactose or anhydrous / mcc 102 mixtures	Filler: Anhydrous lactose
Disintegrant: Primellose	Disintegrant: Primellose	Disintegrant: Primellose
Lubricant: MgST	Lubricant: MgST	Lubricant: MgST

 

Our ready-to-use formulation offer

We are proud to offer you five ready-to-use direct compaction, immediate release (DC IR) formulations including functional filler/binders, disintegrant(s) and lubricant for your needs. The formulations are optimized towards specific DC IR needs, like poorly compressible API’s, Flow, etc. This to enable fast development times and security of supply.

For more information or if you're interested in obtaining our formulations, please contact us.

Formula	Low dose formulations (< 5%)	Compactablity	Flowability	Fast Disintegrating Formulation
CanDoEverything mix	• •	• • •	• • •	• •
CanDo Mix	• •	• •	• •	• •
Low moisture mix	• •	• •	• •	• •
Basic mix	•	•	• • •	• • •
LowDose Mix	• • •	•	• •	• • •

Formula	X50 (µm) blend	Bulk Density (g/ml) blend	Flow ffc (-) blend	DT (s) of form*
CanDoEverything mix	95,5	0.48	27	60
CanDo mix	114	0,61	18	60
LowMoisture mix	110	0,68	17	60
Basic mix	144	0,58	22	30
LowDose mix	110	0,62	12	30

* API was added, Disintegration Time (DT in s) at 1 MPa TTS, 250mg tablets, 9mm diameter on a RoTab tabletting machine.