WARNER-LAMBERT's CAPILL BEING EVALUATED BY 15 DRUG COMPANIES

Executive Summary

WARNER-LAMBERT's CAPILL BEING EVALUATED BY 15 DRUG COMPANIES, the firm reported at a meeting with securities analysts in New York City on Oct. 18. The Capill digestible capsule product is one of the first potential commercial applications of Warner-Lambert's Novon starch plastic technology. Warner-Lambert has started to produce small quantities of the material "for customer evaluation and testing" at its new R&D facilities in Arlesheim, Switzerland. The company says it will be adding a pilot plant to that facility, capable of producing several million pounds of material per year, to expedite customer evaluations. The additional pilot plant is expected to be completed early in 1991. Novon's first commercial production plant will be in Rockford, Illinois and is scheduled for completion by the end of 1991. It is intended to produce more than 100 mil. pounds of Novon per year. Warner-Lambert now expects to begin producing commercial quantities "by early 1992," Chairman Joseph Williams said. Warner-Lambert told analysts that it is "confident we have a viable product." Primary technical innovations have been the expansion of Novon's flexural performance by blending the starch with different polymers, and new formulations of Novon that provide a wide range of water and humidity resistance. Warner-Lambert now holds more than 30 patents relating to Novon. The company has targeted four major markets for Novon: food packaging; non-food packaging; personal and health care; and disposable or short life-cycle products. Warner-Lambert also stressed a desire to "create new applications for Novon not associated with traditional plastics processing," including "non-wovens, fiber spinning, coatings and paper applications."