Enteric, delayed release

Methacrylic acid copolymer

Also written as methacrylic base, acrylic enteric polymer.

Written by the Rglax Pharma technical team, who formulate and manufacture every grade named on this guide at our WHO-GMP works in Tahliwal, Una (drug manufacturing licence NNZ/23/238). Reviewed 3 September 2026. Licences and certificates.

Methacrylic copolymer powder beside enteric coated tablets, one sectioned. Illustration, not a photograph of stock.

What it is

Methacrylic acid copolymers stay intact in the stomach and dissolve once pH rises in the intestine. They carry most of the enteric range because they can be applied from either a solvent or a water base, which lets the same polymer family serve cores that can and cannot tolerate an aqueous process.

What it does in the film

A methacrylic film is insoluble while the surrounding pH stays low and dissolves once it rises. That pH dependence is the whole mechanism. Nothing about the film is doing timed release, it simply waits for the environment to change.

When to choose it

When the filing does not name a different polymer, this is the default enteric route. It is also the only base we hold that can be applied from either water or solvent, so it is the one to pick when the core dictates the process rather than the dossier.

How it runs on the coater

Runs the cool enteric band, 30 to 32 degrees at the bed against a 45 to 50 degree inlet. A warmer bed softens the polymer as it lands and the film coalesces unevenly, which is invisible on the tablet and decisive in an acid stage.

Role: Enteric, delayed release
Also called: methacrylic base, acrylic enteric polymer
Grades on this base: 3
Systems: Enteric coating
Made at: Plot No. 30, Industrial Area Tahliwal, Himachal Pradesh, India

Grades built on methacrylic acid copolymer

What each grade on this base is for, and the actives it was formulated against. The process parameters are on each grade page.

ECM-RP347 Enteric coating
Enteric coat, methacrylic base, non-aqueous
Solvent base methacrylic enteric film for the Pantoprazole group.
Methacrylic base enteric coating applied from a non-aqueous system, formulated for the Pantoprazole group and other dissolution critical enteric tablets. It runs best over a transparent seal coat such as SC-401, which protects the acid labile core.
Base ·
Non-aqueous (solvent)
Finish ·
Enteric film, gastro resistant
Formulated against ·
Pantoprazole group
ECM-RP348 Enteric coating
Enteric coat, methacrylic base, aqueous
Water base methacrylic enteric film for Diclofenac and Serratiopeptidase.
Methacrylic base enteric coating for an aqueous process, formulated for Diclofenac and Serratiopeptidase enteric tablets. It takes solvent handling out of the enteric stage wherever the core allows a water base process.
Base ·
Aqueous
Finish ·
Enteric film, gastro resistant
Formulated against ·
Diclofenac, Serratiopeptidase
ECMS Enteric coating
Enteric coat, methacrylic second bond
Second bond methacrylic enteric system for Mesalamine.
Methacrylic base enteric coating on a second bond, formulated for Mesalamine enteric tablets where release has to be held until a defined point in the intestinal tract.
Base ·
Non-aqueous (solvent)
Finish ·
Enteric film, delayed release
Formulated against ·
Mesalamine