Understanding Powder Behavior in Continuous Feeding: Powder Densification and Screw Layering

16 Oct 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Sara Fathollahi, Pauline H. M. Janssen, Bram Bekaert, Dirk Vanderroost, Valerie Vanhoorne, Bastiaan H. J. Dickhoff

Background: Precise continuous feeding of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and excipients is crucial in a continuous powder-to-tablet manufacturing setup, as any inconsistency can affect the final tablet quality. Method: This study investigated the impact of various materials on the...

Continuous micro feeding and mixing of solid dosage forms under vibrational excitation

08 Oct 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Haifeng Lu, Liang Zhang, Hui Du, Xiaolei Guo, Haifeng Liu

Continuous manufacturing has intrigued many researchers in the pharmaceutical industry in the post-COVID-19 world. We experimentally studied the discharge characteristics of pharmaceutical excipients under vibrational excitation. The successful accurate dosing and filling of powders at fill...

Continuous manufacturing: Changing the paradigm in the pharmaceutical manufacturing sector

23 Sep 2024 | Magazine | Contributor(s): Indu Bhushan

The author explains how continuous manufacturing is reshaping pharmaceutical production

A modeling and control framework for extraction processes

05 Sep 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Peter Neugebauer, Jakob Rehrl, Peter Poechlauer, Dirk Kirschneck, Martin Horn, Martin Steinberger, Stephan Sacher, Joscha Boehm, Daniel Moser

Many continuously operated pharmaceutical process routes have been presented recently. Most of these cover the synthesis of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) or solid dosage processing. However, the API purification is also gaining attraction. One widespread and waste-intensive unit...

Critical review on the role of excipient properties in pharmaceutical powder-to-tablet continuous manufacturing

13 Aug 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Sara Fathollahi, Pauline H. M. Janssen, Bastiaan H. J. Dickhoff, Henderik W. Frijlink

The pharmaceutical industry is gradually changing batch-wise manufacturing processes to continuous manufacturing processes, due to the advantages it has to offer. The final product quality and process efficiency of continuous manufacturing processes is among others impacted by the properties of...

Process intensification of pharmaceutical powder blending at commercial throughputs by utilizing semi-continuous mini-blending

13 Aug 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Maarten Jaspers, Florian Tegel, Timo P. Roelofs, Fabian Starsich, Yunfei Li Song, Bernhard Meir, Richard Elkes, Bastiaan H.J. Dickhoff

Process intensification involves the miniaturization of equipment while retaining process throughput and performance. The pharmaceutical industry can benefit from this approach especially during drug product development, where the availability of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) is often...

Orodispersible films: Product transfer from lab-scale to continuous manufacturing

23 Jul 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Thabet, Yasmin, Breitkreutz, Joerg

Orodispersible films have been described as new beneficial dosage forms for special patient populations. Due to various production settings, different requirements on film formulations are required for non- continuous and continuous manufacturing. In this study, a continuous coating machine was...

Formulation development of a continuously manufactured orodispersible film containing warfarin sodium for individualized dosing

23 Jul 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Niese, Svenja, Quodbach, Julian

Continuously manufactured orodispersible films (ODFs) offer a promising approach for individualized therapy with an easy to administer solid dosage form. The aim of this study was to develop a long ODF containing warfarin sodium to enable safe and more flexible dosing. Formulation development was...

Delta-mannitol to enable continuous twin-screw granulation of a highly dosed, poorly compactable formulation

23 Jul 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Vanhoorne, V., Almey, R., De Beer, T., Vervaet, C.

In current study, it was investigated if the moisture-mediated polymorphic transition from δ- to β-mannitol during twin screw granulation (TSG) also took place in high drug loaded formulations and if the specific granule morphology associated with the polymorphic transition could enable tableting...

Managing active pharmaceutical ingredient raw material variability during twin-screw blend feeding

23 Jul 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Stauffer, F., Vanhoorne, V., Pilcer, G., Chavez, Pierre-François, Schubert, M. A., Vervaet, C., De Beer, T.

Continuous powder feeding is a critical step in continuous manufacturing of solid dosage forms, as this unit operation should ensure the mass flow consistency at the desired powder feed rate to guarantee the process throughput and final product consistency. In this study, twin-screw feeding of a...

Cleaning of direct compression continuous manufacturing equipment through displacement of API residues by excipients

23 Jul 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Patel, Dhavalkumar S, Méndez, Rafael, Romañach, Rodolfo J

This feasibility study evaluates a cleaning process designed to avoid the use of detergents and reduce operator exposure to the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API). The continuous manufacturing equipment was cleaned using excipients to displace ibuprofen residues from the system. The cleaning...

Blend uniformity monitoring in a continuous manufacturing mixing process for a low-dosage formulation using a stream sampler and near infrared spectroscopy

19 Jul 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Rodolfo Romanach, Raúl S. Rangel-Gil, Juan M. Nasrala-Álvarez, Rafael Méndez

Continuous manufacturing has the potential to offer several benefits for the production of oral solid dosage forms, including reduced costs, low-scale equipment, and the application of process analytical technology (PAT) for real-time process control. This study focuses on the implementation of...

Inverse Method-Based Kinetic Modelling and Process Optimization of Reverse-Phase Chromatography for Molnupiravir Synthesis

18 Jul 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Fernando Muzzio, George Tsilomelekis, Ravendra Singh, Athanasios Kritikos

Our research addresses the shift towards continuous manufacturing in the pharmaceutical industry, focusing on optimizing chromatographic separation for the synthesis of molnupiravir. Using an inverse method with six different inlet concentrations for a single objective function, we...

Control oriented modeling of twin-screw granulation in the ConsiGmaTM-25 production plant

09 Jul 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Johannes Khinast, Martin Horn, Jakob Rehrl, Selma Celikovic, Johannes Poms

ConsiGmaTM-25 is a continuous production plant integrating a twin-screw granulation, fluid bed drying, granule conditioning, and a tableting unit. The particle size distribution (PSD), active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) content, and liquid content of wet granules after twin-screw...

Development of a Horizontal Dynamically Mixed Flow Reactor for Laboratory Scale-Up of Photochemical Wohl–Ziegler Bromination

25 Jun 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Pratley, Cassie, Shaalan, Youssef, Boulton, Lee, Jamieson, Craig, Murphy, John A., Edwards, Lee J.

Flow reactors with enhanced mixing are of interest to the pharmaceutical industry for a range of photochemical applications. Taylor–Couette (vortex, dynamically mixed) reactors have been reported to have intensified mixing and have been used with heterogeneous systems. Our photochemical workflow...

Process parameter and kinetic study for the azidation of a zidovudine intermediate with sodium azide in microreactors

25 Jun 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Jiang, Rongkun, Xue, Xiao, Zhao, Fang, Zhu, Weiping, Shang, Minjing, Su, Yuanhai, Xu, Yufang, Qian, Xuhong

Zidovudine, i.e., AZT, is an indispensable anti-AIDS drug for highly active antiretroviral therapy. The azidation step is of the most vital importance in the synthetic route of zidovudine. Herein we report the use of microreactors in combination with the simplified azidation system instead of...

Establishment and Development of Organolithium-Mediated Continuous Flow Process for Intermediate of Canagliflozin

25 Jun 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Yano, Gemba, Hyakumura, Mai, Nakano, Kimihiro, Yasukouchi, Hiroaki, Kawachi, Hideo, Funabashi, Makoto, Ohishi, Takahiro, Ogawa, Yu, Nishiyama, Akira

Organolithium species are among the most reactive and useful reagents in organic synthesis, performing a diverse array of valuable chemical transformations, including C–C bond formation in complex compounds. Organolithium-mediated reactions, however, typically require cryogenic conditions to...

Development of a Manufacturing Process toward the Convergent Synthesis of the COVID-19 Antiviral Ensitrelvir

25 Jun 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Kawajiri, Takahiro, Kijima, Akihito, Iimuro, Atsuhiro, Ohashi, Eisaku, Yamakawa, Katsuya, Agura, Kazushi, Masuda, Kengo, Kouki, Kensuke, Kasamatsu, Koji, Yanagisawa, Shuichi, Nakashima, Sho, Shibahara, Setsuya, Toyota, Takashi, Higuchi, Takafumi, Suto, Takahiro, Oohara, Tadashi, Maki, Toshikatsu, Sahara, Naoto, Fukui, Nobuaki, Wakamori, Hisayuki, Ikemoto, Hidaka, Murakami, Hiroaki, Ando, Hiroyasu, Hosoya, Masahiro, Sato, Mizuki, Suzuki, Yusuke, Nakagawa, Yuta, Unoh, Yuto, Hirano, Yoichi, Nagasawa, Yoshitomo, Goda, Satoshi, Ohara, Takafumi, Tsuritani, Takayuki

We describe the development of the practical manufacturing of Ensitrelvir, which was discovered as a SARS-CoV-2 antiviral candidate. Scalable synthetic methods of indazole, 1,2,4-triazole and 1,3,5-triazinone structures were established, and convergent couplings of these fragments enabled the...

Development and Scale-up of a Flow Chemistry Lithiation–Borylation Route to a Key Boronic Acid Starting Material

25 Jun 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Usutani, Hirotsugu, Nihei, Takashi, Papageorgiou, Charles D., Cork, David G.

A flow chemistry process for the synthesis of a key boronic acid starting material was developed utilizing flow flash chemistry that allowed formation and subsequent productive reaction of an unstable organolithium intermediate. Rapid scale-up from Discovery Chemistry and process optimization to...

Continuous Flow Chemistry of Metal Mediated Carboxylation and α-Arylation Reactions

25 Jun 2024 | Chapter Book | Contributor(s): Venkatraman, Sripathy, Tweedie, Scott, McLaws, Mark, Lathbury, David

Utility of continuous flow chemistry in a carboxylation reaction and palladium-mediated α-arylation reaction is described. A two-step carboxylation reaction of an aryl group involving an anion formation, followed by quench with gaseous carbon dioxide was developed on small scale using HDPE tubes...

Safe and highly efficient adaptation of potentially explosive azide chemistry involved in the synthesis of Tamiflu using continuous-flow technology

25 Jun 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Sagandira, Cloudius R., Watts, Paul

Tamiflu is one of the most effective anti-influenza drugs, which is currently manufactured by Hoffmann-La Roche from shikimic acid. Owing to its importance, more than 60 synthetic routes have been developed to date, however, most of the synthetic routes utilise the potentially hazardous azide...

Continuous Flow Conditions for High Temperature Formation of a Benzodioxan Pharmaceutical Intermediate: Rapid Scaleup for Early Phase Material Delivery

25 Jun 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Li, Pengbin, Yang, Shaohui, Zhu, Ruiheng, Sun, Baoquan, Li, Zhongbo, Huang, Ping, Buser, Jonas Y., Minguez, Jose Miguel, Ryan, Sarah J.

We have developed a continuous flow method to enable rapid scaleup of an enantioenriched benzodioxan intermediate. We propose that the reaction proceeds through an intramolecular SNAr cyclization. Interestingly, traditional SNAr conditions resulted in impurity formation. When the starting...

Flash Chemistry Approach to Organometallic C-Glycosylation for the Synthesis of Remdesivir

25 Jun 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Keutz, Timo von, Williams, Jason D., Kappe, C. Oliver

In a rapidly changing environment, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, continuous flow reactors bear the potential to increase the production of urgently needed active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) on demand. In the synthesis of remdesivir, the organometallic C-glycosylation step was...

Use of Lithium Diisopropylamide in Flow: Operability and Safety Challenges Encountered on a Multigram Scale

25 Jun 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Alonso, Marta, Garcia, Maria Cruz, McKay, Christopher, Thorp, Lee R., Webb, Michael, Edwards, Lee J.

A workflow for the development of organometallic processes in flow was applied to synthesize 1-(5-bromopyridin-2-yl)-2-methylpropan-2-ol, a pharmaceutical intermediate. Key factors and corresponding practical assessments required for the scale-up when transferring from batch to flow are...

Synthesis of the Brivaracetam Employing Asymmetric Photocatalysis and Continuous Flow Conditions

25 Jun 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Franco, Marcelo S., Silva, Rodrigo C., Rosa, Gabriel H. S., Flores, Lara M., Oliveira, Kleber T. de, Assis, Francisco F. de

An original total synthesis of the antiepileptic drug brivaracetam (BRV) is reported. The key step in the synthesis consists of an enantioselective photochemical Giese addition, promoted by visible-light and the chiral bifunctional photocatalyst Δ-RhS. Continuous flow conditions were employed to...