The final product of any drug manufacturing process is
called a ‘Formulation’, they come in various shapes and forms like tablets,
capsules, injectables or syrups. A formulation can be administered straight to
patients. Bulk Drugs are known as ‘API’ or Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients.
Thanks to a quick research with API manufacturers in India, we
discovered that they are basically what are known as the ‘active’ constituent
of any given drugs. The reaction and efficacy of the drug may vary all
depending on its administered dosage. There are certain drugs which carry
multiple types of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients at once. All drugs
are made up of two components, or you can say that there are two aspects to any
drug.
The first aspect is also its main constituent that is
the actual API or Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients. The second aspect
is called an ‘excipient’. The excipient is the other inactive substance that is
found inside a drug or a tablet. For example, if the medication is in a liquid
state, like syrup, then the excipient is the liquid that’s being used as a
carrier for the API. In short, the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API)
is the chemically active substance that has therapeutic qualities and the
excipients are the inert or inactive matter that remains present within the
drug.
There
are certain unknown Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients present in certain formulations
in pharma that require additional substances that can work in conjunction
with APIs to create the intended pharmaceutical outcome. If you take herbal
medicines as an example, these API products as a whole are more
often than not a blend of numerous substances. These substances, when used in
combination, turn active and start their effect in the patient’s body. In this
case, the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients are not just single agents but
the coming together of various herbs and constituents.
Manufacturers
typically employ certain calculation values and yardsticks to establish the
comparative potency of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients within a drug before
furnishing it to the API Suppliers. On the other
hand, the method and the processes used to standardize the API potency vary as
per different brands. While some Manufacturers of Pharmaceuticals may
exercise a certain parameter to evaluate the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients
strength, others manufacturers might apply an altogether very different
standard.
