Starch-free soft chew for veterinary applications

1. A starch-free soft chew formulation for oral delivery of at least one active ingredient to an animal, the formulation comprising non-starch solid excipients, non-water liquid excipients, and at least one active ingredient,

the non-starch solid excipients comprising at least:

dibasic calcium phosphate, and

microcrystalline cellulose, and

the non-water liquid excipients comprising at least:

glycerin, and

triglycerides of fatty acids with carbon chain lengths of at least C6, in an amount of at least 2% w/w of the formulation,

wherein:

the formulation contains no starch,

the formulation contains no water as an excipient and no added water, and

the formulation contains no filler or bulking agent other than the dibasic calcium phosphate and microcrystalline cellulose.

2. The soft chew formulation of claim 1 , wherein the non-starch solid excipients and non-water liquid excipients further comprise at least one of a flavoring, a binder, a disintegrant, and a surfactant.

3. The soft chew formulation of claim 1 , wherein the dibasic calcium phosphate is hydrous.

4. The soft chew formulation of claim 3 , wherein the dibasic calcium phosphate is dibasic calcium phosphate dihydrate.

5. The soft chew formulation of claim 1 , wherein the weight ratio of the dibasic calcium phosphate to the microcrystalline cellulose is about 1.1 to 4:1 or about 2:1 to 3:1.

6. The soft chew formulation of claim 1 , wherein the triglycerides of fatty acids are caprylic/capric triglycerides or medium-chain triglycerides with carbon chain lengths of C6-C12.

7. The soft chew formulation of claim 6 , wherein the weight ratio of the glycerin to the triglycerides of fatty acids is about 4:1 to 7:1 or about 5:1 to 6:1.

8. The soft chew formulation of claim 1 , wherein the non-starch solid excipients and non-water liquid excipients further comprise croscarmellose sodium, magnesium stearate, stearic acid, or sodium stearyl fumarate.

9. The soft chew formulation of claim 1 , wherein the non-starch solid excipients and non-water liquid excipients further comprise citric acid.

10. The soft chew formulation of claim 9 , wherein the citric acid is citric acid anhydrous.

11. The soft chew formulation of claim 1 , wherein the non-starch solid excipients and non-water liquid excipients further comprise α-tocopherol.

12. The soft chew formulation of claim 1 , wherein the α-tocopherol is DL-α-tocopheryl acetate.

13. The soft chew formulation of claim 1 , wherein the non-starch solid excipients and non-water liquid excipients farther comprise povidone, hydroxyl propyl cellulose, or hydroxyl methyl cellulose.

14. The soft chew formulation of claim 1 , wherein the glycerin is present in the formulation in an amount of 15-50% w/w, and the triglycerides of fatty acids are present in the formulation in an amount of 2-20% w/w.

15. The soft chew formulation of claim 14 , wherein the weight ratio of the dibasic calcium phosphate dihydrate to the microcrystalline cellulose is about 2:1 to about 3:1.

16. The soft chew formulation of claim 14 , wherein the weight ratio of the glycerin to the triglycerides of fatty acids is about 4:1 to 7:1 or about 5:1 to 6:1.

17. The soft chew formulation of claim 1 , wherein:

the non-starch solid excipients and non-water liquid excipients thither comprise:

flavoring, at 5-35% w/w of the formulation;

croscarmellose sodium, at 0-15% w/w of the formulation; and

magnesium stearate or sodium stearyl fumarate, at 0-5% w/w of the formulation;

the dibasic calcium phosphate is dibasic calcium phosphate dihydrate and the triglycerides of fatty acids are medium-chain triglycerides; and

the weight percentages of the glycerin and the medium-chain triglycerides in the formulation are 15-50% w/w and 0.2-20% w/w, respectively.

18. The soft chew formulation of claim 17 , wherein the dibasic calcium phosphate dihydrate, microcrystalline cellulose, flavoring, croscarmellose sodium, glycerin, medium-chain triglycerides, and magnesium stearate are in a weight ratio of about 25:8:30:5:25:5:2 or about 30:10:23:5:25:5:2, respectively.

19. The soft chew formulation of claim 17 , wherein the non-starch solid excipients and non-water liquid excipients further comprise:

citric acid anhydrous, at 0-5% w/w of the formulation;

potassium sorbate, at 0.01-3% w/w of the formulation; and

DL-α-tocopheryl acetate, at 0.01-3% w/w of the formulation.

20. The starch-free soft chew formulation of claim 1 , which has a texture value of 11 N or less 4 weeks after preparation, wherein said texture value is measured as a peak force necessary to push a sphere 5.0 mm in diameter to a depth of 2.0 mm into a soft chew weighing 2.5 g±0.13 g with a velocity of 1.0 mm/sec, and wherein the formulation contains:

2.5-6.5% w/w of the at least one active ingredient;

25-30% w/w of the dibasic calcium phosphate;

8-10% w/w of the microcrystalline cellulose;

25-28% w/w of the glycerin;

4.5-5% w/w of the triglycerides of fatty acids;

20-30% w/w of a flavoring agent;

1.5-5% w/w of croscarmellose sodium;

1.5-2% w/w of at least one of sodium stearyl fumarate and magnesium stearate; and

at least one of a preservative and an antioxidant.

21. A process for making the starch-free soft chew-formulation according to claim 1 , said process comprising the steps of:

a) dry-mixing the non-starch solid excipients in a mixer; and

b) mixing the solid excipients into a dough-like material by adding into the mixer the non-water liquid excipients.