Billed as “melt-in-your-mouth” tablets, a new drug-delivery technology is being promoted as an easier, better, cost-effective way for people to take drugs in pill form.



Frosta has been developed by Akina, a startup from Purdue Research Park in West Lafayette, Indiana.



Frosta is a tablet formulation that can melt in a person’s mouth in as little as 10 seconds. The name refers to this fast-melting nature, which its developers compare to the melting of frost.

“This kind of fast-melting tablet is good for those patients who have trouble taking pills without gagging, especially the elderly and children,” says Kinam Park, Akina’s chief executive officer and a Purdue University professor of pharmaceutics and biomedical engineering.



“Our technology also enables patients to take pills without water, and that’s important for people who are on the go,” he says.



Frosta melts much faster than existing commercial products made by tablet press machines.



Products currently on the market — known variously as fast-melting tablets, fast-disintegrating tablets and fast-dispensing tablets — are made by either freeze-drying a liquid dosage into a solid dosage or by using conventional tablet press machines.



The freeze-drying method produces tablets that are fast-melting, but they crumble easily. Conversely, press machines produce tablets that are relatively strong, but they often fail to melt quickly.
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