Introduction of different types of materials for capsule manufacturing is supporting growth of the empty capsules market
Gelatin has widely been used material for empty capsules and is obtained from natural sources such as bovine gelatin and porcine gelatin. Two types of capsules can be manufactured using gelatin such as hard gelatin capsules and soft gelatin capsules. However, these capsules have limitations owing to the nature of gelatin as certain compounds cannot be mixed with gelatin such as highly water soluble compounds. Introduction of other compatible materials has widened the scope of applications for these products. For instance, introduction of non-gelatin capsules, which are synthetic (hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose) as well as vegetarian capsules has aided in growth of the market. Vegetarian capsules such as pullulan are made from tapioca plant and offers several advantage over gelatin capsules. Vegetarian capsules cause lesser allergies as compared to other forms. Moreover, people with hypersensitivity to cow and bovine products can consume vegetarian capsules. Thus, demand for vegetarian capsules is expected to increase significantly over the forecast period.
However, requirement of an industrial grade capsule filling machine is important as filling each capsule by hand is time consuming. Moreover, limitations with gelatin capsules such as restrictions on drug compatibilities, and difficulty for kidney and liver disease patient in excretion of additional protein content in gelatin capsules is expected to impact the growth of the empty capsules market.
Some players operating in the global empty capsules market are ACG Associated Capsules Pvt. Ltd., Capsugel, Inc., CapsCanada Corporation, Medicaps Ltd., Qualicaps, Inc., JC Biological Technology Co., Patheon, Inc., Roxlor LLC, and Sunil Healthcare Ltd. fenbendazole 222mg capsules for humans