The Hidden Science Behind Modern Medicines
Published October 14, 2026
By Thierry Fournier, CEO of Roquette.
When we think about modern medicines, we tend to focus on the active ingredient: the molecule responsible for delivering a therapeutic effect. However, effective medicines also depend on a less visible layer of science.
Behind every tablet, capsule, and injectable therapy lies formulation science: the expertise that determines whether a medicine remains stable, reaches the right part of the body, can be manufactured consistently and, ultimately, performs as intended.
Pharmaceutical excipients are central to that science. They help determine how medicines are formulated, influencing everything from taste to how and when active ingredients are released.
Their applications span the pharmaceutical landscape, from everyday tablets, capsules, and syrups to increasingly sophisticated drug-delivery technologies.
The role of formulation sciences
Their value is best illustrated by the difference they make for patients.
Taste masking, for example, can improve treatment adherence by making medicines more palatable, particularly for children.
Modified-release formulations can reduce the frequency of doses, while orally disintegrating tablets and liquid formulations can make medicines easier to administer.
Recent advances in formulation and drug-delivery technologies are also enabling complex therapies to be delivered in new ways, including GLP-1 medicines that can now be delivered orally rather than only by injection.
Taken together, these capabilities continue to transform how medicines are designed, manufactured, and experienced by patients.
At Roquette, we see the impact of this science every day. Around 45 billion modified-release tablets and 30 billion orally disintegrating or chewable tablets are manufactured using our excipients each year.
With decades of experience in carbohydrate chemistry and plant-based innovation, we are working alongside pharmaceutical companies to solve increasingly complex formulation challenges.
From scientific innovation to medicine
This work is closely aligned to our purpose: Together, we turn the potential of nature into the essentials of life.
For us, that means applying our science and expertise where they can make a tangible difference – helping turn pharmaceutical innovation into medicines that can be manufactured reliably and at scale.
Achieving that reliability requires more than selecting the right active ingredient. Formulators must carefully balance stability, manufacturability, performance, and patient experience while ensuring a product can be produced consistently throughout its lifecycle. The decisions made during formulation development often determine whether a promising molecule can successfully make the transition from scientific discovery to commercial medicine.
Enabling pharmaceutical innovation
This makes formulation science more than a step in pharmaceutical development. It is a strategic capability: one that enables innovation, strengthens manufacturing resilience, and helps bring increasingly sophisticated therapies to patients.
Scientific discovery will always be at the heart of medical progress. But the next generation of medicines will not only depend on breakthrough molecules, but also on the formulation science that transforms those discoveries into treatments that are safe, scalable, and accessible to patients around the world.