Polyglycerol esters – the new generation of functional lipids for pharmaceutical applications

PRESS RELEASE, 18. September 2025

When a challenge becomes an opportunity

In the world of pharmaceutical development, there is a constantly growing hurdle: more and more innovative active ingredients are poorly soluble in water or have a low permeability – and are therefore difficult for the human body to absorb. The result? Active ingredients with high therapeutic potential cannot achieve their therapeutic goal. But this is precisely where the newly developed group of excipients, the innovative lipid-based polyglycerol esters, offers new possibilities in the development of formulations.

The available data speaks for itself: 35% of drugs approved today belong to BCS class II, which means they are poorly soluble in aqueous environments but have good permeability. In the development pipeline, this figure is even more dramatic: 60–70% of all drug candidates have poor solubility.

In recent decades, this limitation has prevented many drugs with promising therapeutic potential from being made available to patients in the form of a medicine.

Why lipids?

Functional lipids offer the opportunity to unlock this potential. Polyglycerol esters are amphiphilic lipids which, due to their nature, have a lipophilic molecular component but also have the ability to absorb significantly larger amounts of water than classic triglycerides. In a broader sense, they can be described as hydrophilic lipids.

This special group of excipients has the potential to redefine the rules of the game. Functional lipids are not only carrier substances, but they are also key components in the development of stable, effective, and well-tolerated drug forms that deliver such APIs safely to their site of action.

The polyglycerol ester group of excipients – versatile, stable, well-tolerated

IOI polyglycerol esters are the result of targeted development for pharmaceutical applications. The substances are characterized by the following properties:

Stable crystalline modification: under ICH conditions, the substances are present in a single, stable crystal form which, unlike triglycerides, ensures consistent quality and stability of the dosage form. There is no uncontrolled recrystallization, which, for example, ensures reliable drug release and thus consistent bioavailability in solid dosage forms.
Amphiphilic lipid structure, which, unlike classic lipids, enables targeted wettability and water absorption. These are substances with an intrinsic emulsifier function.
Due to its excellent skin and mucous membrane compatibility, polyglycerol ester 144, for example, is an ideal formulation base for new or further developments of ovules and suppositories.
Sustainability: the substances are produced from renewable plant-based raw materials.
Regulatory safety – GMP-compliant, fully documented, and traceable
Polyglycerol esters based on polyglycerol 2, 3, and 4 are classified under food additive number E475 (EU) or listed as GRAS (USA) and are therefore safe for use in pharmaceutical formulations.

Discover our pharmaceutical lipids!

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Source: IOI Oleo, Dr. Thomas Rillmann, website Polyglycerol esters – the new generation of functional lipids for pharmaceutical applications, https://www.ioioleo.de/en/news/polyglycerol-esters-the-new-generation-of-functional-lipids-for-pharmaceutical-applications/

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