PVP (polyvinylpyrrolidone)

An all-round talent with tradition

• PVP and its derivatives in pharmaceutical production
• Quality and patient safety with PVP from BASF
• 70 years of tradition in PVP production

PVP and its derivatives in pharmaceutical production

PVP - also known under the compendial name "povidone" - has a long tradition at BASF and is one of the most interesting and versatile polymers used in the pharmaceutical industry. It helps many of our customers to be even more successful.

Under the registered trade name Kollidon®, PVP is mainly used in tablets as a binder and disintegrant. It thus makes the tablet a true high-tech product: as a binder, it enables the individual active ingredients of a tablet to form a homogenous entity and as a disintegrant it ensures that the tablets break up in liquid and release the active ingredient quickly.

Quality and patient safety with PVP from BASF

Recently, BASF introduced a new plastic film as primary packaging, for which a patent has been applied. This film is designed to protect BASF’s pharmaceutical excipient polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) even better against atmospheric oxygen and thus against oxidation. This new and innovative packaging raises product quality and thus improves patient safety.

The highest possible quality standards are required for pharmaceutical applications. BASF’s products, processes and facilities in fact exceed the strict international quality standards of the pharmaceutical industry. Consequently, the United States Pharmacopeia (USP), an independent work of reference, has certified the PVP produced by BASF. Prior to certification, the USP checked not only compliance with the requirements of current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP), but also the quality and the documentation of production and quality control. At the same time, the PVP marketed by BASF was also certified for the European market subsequent to a wide-ranging GMP audit. BASF guarantees a consistently high product quality and in this way contributes to the success of its pharmaceutical customers.

Recently, Pharmaceutical Excipients Auditing (IPEA) confirmed the excellent high quality of BASF’s PVP pharma grades. BASF as well as other established PVP manufacturers fulfill all requirements of the relevant compendia. Read more on the importance of adequate supplier qualification in “Pharmaceutical Technology” Volume 33 No. 10 pp. 84-88 (October 2009).

70 years of tradition in PVP production

PVP is a product that has been a real success story. About 70 years ago, at the beginning of 1939, the chemist Walter Reppe, working in a BASF laboratory in Ludwigshafen, patented the production process for the polymer polyvinylpyrrolidone. It quickly became clear that the BASF researcher had discovered a veritable all-rounder: PVP, although soluble in water, can also absorb large quantities of water. It is non-irritant to the skin and does not pose a health hazard. It is also temperature-resistant, pH-stable, non-ionic and colorless. Due to these varied features, PVP can be used in a wide range of applications. Even today, new opportunities continue to be found. This makes PVP an all-round talent with a firm place in the BASF product portfolio.

Read More