At the symposium of the AFI, the Italian Pharmaceutical Industry Association, held in Rimini in the middle of June, Messer received an award for the best scientific poster presentation. This presentation concerned the results regarding the production of pharmaceutical formulations containing metoclopramide with Variosol technology. In comparison with other processes in which low-melting, tough or pasty products are processed into powders right down to the size of nanoparticles, the Variosol process uses liquid carbon dioxide as a spray and coolant, thereby dispensing with conventional solvents. The advantages of this process are that it facilitates the cost-effective production of powder products to a consistently high quality.

The project is being carried out in collaboration with DISCAFF (Department of Chemical, Food, Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences at Eastern Piedmont University in Novara - Italy), SiTec Consulting (www.sitec-consult.com), a technology service provider to the pharmaceutical industry based near Turin, and Messer Italia. This collaboration is based on a licensing and cooperation agreement between Messer and SiTec on the development and marketing of the Variosol technology.