BDD Pharma Ltd. Commences Clinical Study of Proprietary Duodenal Drug Delivery Technology
Clinical evaluation of BDD’s novel duodenal delivery platform marks a further investment in the company’s proprietary drug-delivery technology portfolio
United Kingdom – September 7th 2026
BDD Pharma Ltd. (“BDD”), a specialist drug-delivery and clinical development company, is pleased to announce that it has commenced a clinical study evaluating its proprietary Duodenal Drug Delivery technology.
The first study administration was completed on 25 August 2026 at BDD’s clinical research facility in Glasgow, UK.
The study represents an important milestone in the development of BDD’s novel duodenal drug delivery platform and reflects the company’s continued investment in creating and clinically validating its own proprietary drug-delivery technologies.
Developed in-house using BDD’s extensive expertise in specialist oral formulation and gastrointestinal drug-delivery studies, this novel tablet technology is designed to target release within the duodenum.
The clinical study uses gamma scintigraphy to directly visualise the gastrointestinal transit and release behaviour of the tablet in vivo. A radiolabelled marker incorporated within the formulation allows BDD’s scientists to determine whether release occurs at the intended location within the gastrointestinal tract. In this study BDD will evaluate the technology in an adaptive clinical study (BDD SWIFT) with multiple study arms, using real time clinical data to adapt and improve the formulation between arms.
BDD has more than 25 years’ experience in gastrointestinal imaging and the clinical evaluation of oral drug products. Data generated through this work have provided the company with extensive insight into the relationship between gastrointestinal physiology and the in vivo performance of pharmaceutical formulations.
This experience has been fundamental to the development of a novel duodenal drug delivery platform technology. Reliably targeting drug release to specific regions of the gastrointestinal tract presents significant formulation challenges, with physiological variability and gastrointestinal transit potentially affecting product performance. The platform has been developed to provide a new approach to achieving targeted release within the duodenum.
Successful demonstration of targeted rapid duodenal release could create opportunities across a range of pharmaceutical development programmes. Potential applications include drugs where absorption is restricted to the upper GI tract, but require protection from the harsh environment of the stomach; products where the stomach requires protection from the drug, but localised duodenal absorption is preferred and products where predictable release in the upper intestine is desirable.
Dr Carol Thomson, Chief Executive Officer of BDD, commented:
“BDD has built its reputation by using our expertise in formulation science and clinical evaluation to solve complex drug-delivery challenges for our partners. We are passionate about remaining at the forefront of drug delivery research and so it is important that we invest that expertise back into BDD to continue creating valuable proprietary technologies of our own.
“This programme is a great example of that strategy. We have identified an important drug-delivery challenge through our years of in vivo research, developed our own technology to address it, manufactured the clinical formulation and are now evaluating its performance in our own specialist clinical facility. It is what we do best.
“Our ambition is to continue expanding BDD’s proprietary technology portfolio, creating new opportunities for licensing, partnered product development and the development of future BDD-owned assets.”
Dr Fiona MacDougall, Chief Scientific Officer at BDD, added:
“One of BDD’s key strengths is our ability to understand how pharmaceutical formulations behave in the human gastrointestinal tract, rather than relying solely on in vitro testing.
“Our extensive scintigraphic experience has demonstrated the challenges associated with reliably targeting drug release to specific regions of the gastrointestinal tract. We have used that knowledge to inform the development of this technology.
“This study will allow us to directly visualise the behaviour of the tablet in vivo and determine whether it can achieve the targeted duodenal release profile it has been designed to deliver. It is particularly exciting to see a concept developed from BDD’s own scientific expertise progressing into clinical evaluation.”
This new product will complement BDD’s existing portfolio of proprietary oral drug-delivery technologies, including OralogiK™ and CologiK™, and forms part of the company’s strategy to create additional value through internally generated intellectual property alongside its formulation development, GMP manufacturing and clinical research services.
BDD intends to explore opportunities to apply this technology through internal development programmes, pharmaceutical partnerships and future licensing agreements following successful clinical validation.
About BDD
BDD is a specialist drug-delivery and clinical development company with internationally recognised expertise in oral formulation development and more than 25 years’ experience in gastrointestinal imaging and clinical studies.
BDD provides an integrated development pathway encompassing formulation development, GMP manufacture and clinical evaluation, allowing pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to rapidly generate in vivo data on the performance of innovative drug products.
Alongside its development and clinical services, BDD develops proprietary drug-delivery technologies including OralogiK™, CologiK™ and its developing duodenal drug delivery platform.
BDD’s formulation and pharmaceutical development operations are based at BioCity Scotland, with its clinical research facility located within Glasgow Royal Infirmary.
Media and Corporate Enquiries
BDD Pharma Ltd.
Calum Stevens
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enquiries@bddpharma.com
+44 (0) 141 552 8791
ENDS