At the European Pediatric Formulation Initiative (EuPFI) conference in September 2021, Quotient Sciences [1] and Kadmon (a Sanofi company) [2] presented a poster describing a taste assessment study of belumosudil, a ROCK2 selective inhibitor developed by Kadmon (a Sanofi company) for the treatment of immune disorders, that was carried out by Quotient Sciences. An oral suspension was being investigated as a possible pediatric formulation for patients aged between 3 months and 12 years, and the aim of this study was to identify an optimal flavor and/or sweetener combination to improve palatability.
Twelve healthy, adult volunteers took part in a ‘sip-and-spit’ taste assessment of six different formulations, including one unflavored/unsweetened reference and five different flavor/sweetener combinations. The participants filled in a questionnaire to rate the overall acceptability and seven key taste characteristics of each formulation on a nine-point Likert scale.
The study identified multiple successful flavor and sweetener combinations that were able to improve palatability. It was determined that a formulation with either sweetener alone or in combination with a flavor would be suitable to enhance palatability and to take forward into a relative bioavailability assessment versus the reference adult tablet formulation.
Poster authors
1. Quotient Sciences: Ashley Willson, Mark Beville, Nand Singh, Nazim Kanji
2. Kadmon (a Sanofi company): Olivier Schueller, Galit Regev
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