Patch system from LTS gets US patent

Germany's Lohmann Therapie-System has been granted a US patent on a new process for the manufacture of a multilayer laminate that can be used for the transdermal delivery of active pharmaceutical ingredients or cosmetics.

The laminates produced can be used to deliver a much broader range of active substances than existing technologies, such as volatile compounds, and may also be suitable for non-topical application, such as in films or foils.

The patent​ (No 6,586,040) describes the process for making the laminate. Each layer of the structure can be used to deliver one API or pharmaceutical auxiliary.

A key advantage of the new technique over existing approaches is that each layer of the laminate is constructed in sequence, as opposed to the current method of creating each layer and then joining them together. The latter approach requires much greater use of solvents and layer materials, according to the patent.

The new process "makes it possible to produce multilayer laminates with one operation per layer, without a backing film and/or cover film, thereby significantly reducing machine running times and material costs,​" it added.