NEWINGTON, N.H. – Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science, today announced a cooperation agreement with Agere Pharmaceuticals Inc., which will enable customers to accelerate formulation development of pharmaceutical compounds. The partnership is intended to reduce time and cost during proof of concept studies by means of hot melt extrusion and granulation. The two companies also possess a deep know-how in solid dispersions of poorly soluble compounds.

Thermo Fisher will install its Thermo Scientific Pharma 16 HME twin-screw extruder at the Agere GMP facility located in Bend, Oregon. Agere can provide in-depth knowledge of solid dispersions and Thermo Fisher offers outstanding experience in hot melt extrusion, which will provide customers the ability to access process or formulation development, scale-up and GMP manufacturing at just one site. Customers will also be able to evaluate formulations using novel testing methodologies and rank formulations with respect to anticipated bioavailability.

“To more quickly develop new formulations, our hot melt extruders offer the latest technology to efficiently produce solid solutions or dispersions in pharmaceutical applications,” said Karl Gerhard Hoppmann, vice president and general manager, Thermo Fisher Scientific Material Characterization. “We are excited to combine our hot melt extrusion portfolio with Agere’s experience in formulation development. This will provide our customers with easy access to our instruments and it also offers them a complete hot melt extrusion solution for individual pharmaceutical applications.”

“Twin-screw melt extrusion is an enabling technology for many critical formulation challenges in the pharmaceutical industry,” said Dan Smithey, Chief Scientific Officer, Agere. “We look forward to offering this exciting Thermo Scientific technology to our customers and to demonstrate its utility in our cGMP manufacturing facilities.”

Thermo Fisher Scientific, one of the pioneers in rheology, successfully supports a wide range of industries with its comprehensive Thermo Scientific material characterization solutions. Material characterization solutions analyze and measure viscosity, elasticity, processability and temperature-related mechanical changes of plastics, food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and coatings, chemical or petrochemical products, plus a wide variety of liquids or solids. For more information, please visit the following sites to learn more about the Thermo Scientific hot melt extrusion portfolio:

About Agere Pharmaceuticals

Agere Pharmaceuticals is an integrated specialty drug delivery company focused on providing solutions to formulation challenges in the pharmaceutical industry including the development of poorly soluble compounds. Agere offers customers proof-of-concept studies to GMP manufacturing. Agere integrates comprehensive scientific knowledge and formulation expertise with innovative analytical methods and predictive computational tools to develop commercializable formulations. Visit www.agerepharma.com.

About Thermo Fisher Scientific

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE: TMO) is the world leader in serving science. Our mission is to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. With revenues of nearly $11 billion, we have approximately 37,000 employees and serve customers within pharmaceutical and biotech companies, hospitals and clinical diagnostic labs, universities, research institutions and government agencies, as well as in environmental and process control industries. We create value for our key stakeholders through two premier brands, Thermo Scientific and Fisher Scientific, which offer a unique combination of continuous technology development and the most convenient purchasing options. Our products and services help accelerate the pace of scientific discovery, and solve analytical challenges ranging from complex research to routine testing to field applications. Visit www.thermofisher.com.