Multicomponent Solid Forms
Multicomponent systems provide the option of combining drugs at the supramolecular level. Among these, co-crystals have gained a widespread interest in pharmaceutical industry as US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently introduced new regulatory guidelines regarding this solid form that is anticipated to expand patent portfolios. Apart from co-crystals, other multi-component adducts such as co-amorphous system and eutectics are also a topic of interest for pharmaceutical researchers as they provide therapeutic advantages along with improved the aqueous solubility, dissolution, and bioavailability of poorly soluble drugs. This chapter provides a brief overview of multicomponent solid forms, their preparation methodologies, characterization, evaluation, biopharmaceutical aspects, scale up issues, and regulatory perspectives related to these solid forms. In addition, a section on future perspectives that sheds light on new therapeutic hybrids deploying drug-drug and drug-neutraceuticals combinations with improved pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical attributes is also included.