Many drug actives are bitter. So how are medicines effectively taste masked?
A common response is to add flavors such as orange, grape, mint in an attempt to mask that bitterness. However, this strategy is inherently ineffective due to basic differences in human anatomy and physiology.
Bitter – along with sweet, sour, and salty – are perceived by taste buds on the tongue. In contrast, orange, grape, mint and all other “flavors” are actually aroma compounds perceived through the sense of smell. Just like vision has no impact on hearing, aroma (smell) cannot mask bitterness (taste).
True reduction of bitterness requires balancing with the complementary tastes – sweet, sour and salty – through the mechanism of taste/taste interaction. This is the foundational principle of taste masking.
Once the bitterness has been reduced, identifying flavors such as orange, grape or mint can be selected based on compatibility with the drug active and excipients, patient demographics, dosing frequency and other quality-of-life considerations.
This is the art and science of taste masking – a field that Senopsys continues to pioneer.
By integrating advanced taste masking strategies into formulation design, we help address one of the most common challenges in pediatric drug development—creating medicines that children will willingly take.
Oral sprays can deliver a wide range of APIs into systemic circulation through the highly perfused tissues of the oral cavity. Using a sensory-directed process, Senopsys developed a palatable oral spray formulation for an extremely bitter drug, despite the added challenge of a solvent system that produced trigeminal irritation.
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Trusted by 15 of the top 25 global pharma companies, Senopsys brings sensory science and formulation expertise to the most challenging taste masking problems.
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