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Applications
galenIQ™ Redefines the Indian Excipient Market Through Innovation, Education, and
Real-World Performance
India | Pharmaceutical Excipients | Oral Solid Dosage Innovation
India's pharmaceutical excipient landscape is undergoing a gradual but significant transformation, driven by the growing need for high-performance, formulation-ready materials. In a recent episode of Excipient Talk, Michael Black, Senior Sales Manager for galenIQ™, discussed this evolution with Siddhant Waikar, Business Development Manager at SFA Food and Pharma Ingredients, highlighting the journey of introducing galenIQ™ to the Indian pharmaceutical market.
With SFA Food and Pharma Ingredients marking 25 years of operations and maintaining a long-standing partnership with Beneo, the discussion shed light on the strategic, technical, and educational efforts required to establish a novel excipient in one of the world's most competitive generics-driven markets.
Addressing the Challenges of India's Generics-Focused Pharma Industry
India's pharmaceutical industry is largely dominated by generic drug manufacturing, where formulations are often benchmarked against Reference Listed Drugs (RLDs) from Europe and the United States. This environment naturally creates resistance to replacing established excipients with newer alternatives.
According to Siddhant Waikar, galenIQ™ also faces the common challenge of being grouped alongside traditional polyols such as mannitol and sorbitol—materials that have been industry standards for decades. However, galenIQ™ differentiates itself through its unique physicochemical properties, particularly in flowability, compressibility, and stability.
To overcome initial barriers, SFA has adopted a sensory-first, application-driven approach. Through blind taste kits, formulation prototypes, and direct technical engagement, customers are able to experience the material's flow, whiteness, and rapid dissolution kinetics firsthand. These evaluations frequently serve as a catalyst for deeper technical discussions on performance advantages in oral solid dosage formulations.
Demonstrated Success Across Therapeutic Applications
The growing acceptance of galenIQ™ in India is supported by tangible, real-world formulation success:
Anti-malarial tablet stability: In one significant case, two grades of galenIQ™ were used for granulation and extra-granular compression in an anti-malarial tablet. The excipient played a critical role in maintaining shelf-life stability under high-temperature and high-humidity conditions in West Africa, supporting the product's suitability for global health programs.
Caffeine tablet reformulation: In another instance, galenIQ™ replaced sorbitol in a caffeine tablet formulation. Due to its lower hygroscopicity, the switch resulted in reduced moisture uptake and improved weight stability, leading to rapid customer approval following trial evaluation.
Building the Future of Excipients Through Education and Market Impact
Looking ahead, the long-term vision for galenIQ™ in India is to become a widely recognized, mainstream excipient across pharmaceutical product labels. Given India's position as a global pharmaceutical manufacturing hub, increased adoption within the country has the potential to influence formulation practices worldwide.
A key focus area remains technical education. The galenIQ™ and SFA teams are actively working to ensure the excipient is included in academic literature, formulation references, and training programs for future scientists, PhD researchers, and formulation experts.
These initiatives will be further showcased at CPHI India (25–27 November), along with a dedicated technical seminar in Baddi, widely regarded as Asia's largest pharmaceutical manufacturing hub.
About galenIQ™
galenIQ™ is a multifunctional isomalt-based pharmaceutical excipient designed for oral solid dosage forms, offering excellent flowability, compressibility, low hygroscopicity, and stability under challenging climatic conditions.
Learn More
The complete discussion and detailed insights are available in Excipient Talk #15 | galenIQ™ in India: Challenges & Success Stories.
India | Pharmaceutical Excipients | Oral Solid Dosage Innovation
India's pharmaceutical excipient landscape is undergoing a gradual but significant transformation, driven by the growing need for high-performance, formulation-ready materials. In a recent episode of Excipient Talk, Michael Black, Senior Sales Manager for galenIQ™, discussed this evolution with Siddhant Waikar, Business Development Manager at SFA Food and Pharma Ingredients, highlighting the journey of introducing galenIQ™ to the Indian pharmaceutical market.
With SFA Food and Pharma Ingredients marking 25 years of operations and maintaining a long-standing partnership with Beneo, the discussion shed light on the strategic, technical, and educational efforts required to establish a novel excipient in one of the world's most competitive generics-driven markets.
Addressing the Challenges of India's Generics-Focused Pharma Industry
India's pharmaceutical industry is largely dominated by generic drug manufacturing, where formulations are often benchmarked against Reference Listed Drugs (RLDs) from Europe and the United States. This environment naturally creates resistance to replacing established excipients with newer alternatives.
According to Siddhant Waikar, galenIQ™ also faces the common challenge of being grouped alongside traditional polyols such as mannitol and sorbitol—materials that have been industry standards for decades. However, galenIQ™ differentiates itself through its unique physicochemical properties, particularly in flowability, compressibility, and stability.
To overcome initial barriers, SFA has adopted a sensory-first, application-driven approach. Through blind taste kits, formulation prototypes, and direct technical engagement, customers are able to experience the material's flow, whiteness, and rapid dissolution kinetics firsthand. These evaluations frequently serve as a catalyst for deeper technical discussions on performance advantages in oral solid dosage formulations.
Demonstrated Success Across Therapeutic Applications
The growing acceptance of galenIQ™ in India is supported by tangible, real-world formulation success:
Anti-malarial tablet stability: In one significant case, two grades of galenIQ™ were used for granulation and extra-granular compression in an anti-malarial tablet. The excipient played a critical role in maintaining shelf-life stability under high-temperature and high-humidity conditions in West Africa, supporting the product's suitability for global health programs.
Caffeine tablet reformulation: In another instance, galenIQ™ replaced sorbitol in a caffeine tablet formulation. Due to its lower hygroscopicity, the switch resulted in reduced moisture uptake and improved weight stability, leading to rapid customer approval following trial evaluation.
Building the Future of Excipients Through Education and Market Impact
Looking ahead, the long-term vision for galenIQ™ in India is to become a widely recognized, mainstream excipient across pharmaceutical product labels. Given India's position as a global pharmaceutical manufacturing hub, increased adoption within the country has the potential to influence formulation practices worldwide.
A key focus area remains technical education. The galenIQ™ and SFA teams are actively working to ensure the excipient is included in academic literature, formulation references, and training programs for future scientists, PhD researchers, and formulation experts.
These initiatives will be further showcased at CPHI India (25–27 November), along with a dedicated technical seminar in Baddi, widely regarded as Asia's largest pharmaceutical manufacturing hub.
About galenIQ™
galenIQ™ is a multifunctional isomalt-based pharmaceutical excipient designed for oral solid dosage forms, offering excellent flowability, compressibility, low hygroscopicity, and stability under challenging climatic conditions.
Learn More
The complete discussion and detailed insights are available in Excipient Talk #15 | galenIQ™ in India: Challenges & Success Stories.
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