With New License, Quay Pharma Hopes to Make Drug Administration Easier

Quay Pharma, which provides pharmaceutical development and clinical manufacturing services to the global biotech-pharmaceutical industry, has been awarded a full license to extend its capabilities into veterinary medicine.

“We are developing products for our customers, including veterinarians looking to develop medicines or medical devices mainly for companion animals and also for large animals, like horses,” said Mike Frodsham, head of pharmaceutical development at Quay Pharma.

The company’s pharmaceutical outsourcing specialist is working on a project for a new range of feline liquid medications that they hope will replace the more traditional tablet forms that are currently available—making drug administration easier.

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“The products are confidential to our customers,” Frodsham said, “but some are new formulations for current products that are traditionally difficult to [administer].” These new liquid formulations will be made available in different flavors to help mask the taste of the drugs.

One challenge for Quay Pharma is that individual flavors react differently to the various formulations. To combat this, the company is producing several different liquid medicines for clinical trials to assess flavor preferences.

“One of the products is going into clinical trial this year—date to be confirmed,” Frodsham said.

“Another product is undergoing food affect studies to see if the new formulation can solve some of the current problems around dosing inconsistency due to interactions within the digestive tract.”

According to a company press release, the first commercial launch of products is expected early this year.

“This is another exciting development for Quay, underlining our wide-ranging experience in formulation development and contract manufacturing,” Quay Pharma CEO Maireadh Pedersen said. “We are delighted to now be able to offer our expertise to the important veterinary medicines sector."