Formulating Poorly Water Soluble Drugs

The objective of this volume is to consolidate within a single text the most current knowledge, practical methods, and regulatory considerations pertaining to formulations development with poorly water-soluble molecules. A pharmaceutical scientist's approach toward solubility enhancement of a poorly water-soluble molecule typically includes detailed characterization of the compound's physiochemical properties, solid-state modifications, advanced formulation design, non-conventional process technologies, advanced analytical characterization, and specialized product performance analysis techniques. The scientist must also be aware of the unique regulatory considerations pertaining to the non-conventional approaches often utilized for poorly water-soluble drugs. One faced with the challenge of developing a drug product from a poorly soluble compound must possess at minimum a working knowledge of each of the abovementioned facets and detailed knowledge of most. In light of the magnitude of the growing solubility problem to drug development, this is a significant burden especially when considering that knowledge in most of these areas is relatively new and continues to develop

Robert O. (Bill) Williams III, Ph.D. is the Johnson & Johnson Centennial Professor of Pharmaceutics at the College of Pharmacy, University of Texas at Austin. He earned a B.S. in Biology from Texas A&M University, a B.S. in Pharmacy from the University of Texas at Austin and Doctor of Philosophy in Pharmaceutics in 1986 from the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Williams worked 9 years in the pharmaceutical industry in the United States and France before returning to the University of Texas at Austin. Dr Williams was elected a Fellow of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists in 2006 and a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering in 2008. Dr. Williams is a member of numerous professional organizations, including American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, and American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists. Dr. Williams' research interests include development of novel drug delivery systems for oral, pulmonary, nasal, injectable, buccal and topical applications, development of novel particle engineering technologies for low molecular weight drugs, peptides and proteins, and analytical technologies to characterize actives, excipients and polymers. He has published over 300 articles, abstracts and book chapters in the fields of pharmaceutical technology and drug delivery. In addition, Dr. Williams has co-edited one book. He is an inventor on numerous patents and patent applications. Dr. Williams is the Editor-in-Chief of the research journal AAPS PharmSciTech, and serves as a reviewer for International Journal of Pharmaceutics, Pharmaceutical Research, European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, S.T.P. Pharma Sciences, Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Pharmaceutical Development and Technology, Journal of Membrane Science, and Journal of Controlled Release.