Lyobeads are not new technology. The process has been around for years. Droplets of a peptide solution are added into a liquid nitrogen bath to instantly freeze them and then they are freeze dried into small beads instead of a traditional lyophilised cake.
The machines used to make them are designed to create uniform droplets before freezing and drying. That’s how you get the neat bead format rather than a solid cake in a vial.
The format can have real advantages: easier handling, more uniform dosing, faster drying, and near-instant reconstitution. But it’s a lot of extra work.
But lyobeads can also be fragile and hygroscopic, meaning they absorb moisture quickly. Rough shipping or poor storage can leave you with a mix of beads and powder.
The beads in the pictures are just samples the manufacturer had. They are mainly used for reagents, not injectables. The containers in this example are screw top so it’s not sealed like a vial would be and so they need the desiccant sachets as humidity can quickly turn neat beads into clumps or powder
The machines below are Lyobead machines
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