The role of digital twins in driving sustainability

29 Oct 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Deborah McElhone, Barrie Cassey, Kamal Abu-Hassan

As the pharmaceutical sector endeavours to become more sustainable, we hear how digital twins – virtual replicas of systems or products that can help predict performance – are supporting the industry in its efforts.

Development of a high-fidelity digital twin using the discrete element method for a continuous direct compression process. Part 1. Calibration workflow

24 Oct 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Peter Toson, Marko Matić, Theresa Hörmann-Kincses, Michela Beretta, Jakob Rehrl, Johannes Poms, Thomas O’Connor, Abdollah Koolivand, Geng Tian, Scott M. Krull, Johannes G. Khinast, Dalibor Jajcevic, Johan Remmelgas

In this work, a high-fidelity digital twin was developed to support the design and testing of control strategies for drug product manufacturing via direct compression. The high-fidelity digital twin platform was based on typical pharmaceutical equipment, materials, and direct compression...

Continuous Processing. Continuous Evolution

08 Oct 2024 | Magazine | Contributor(s): Douglas Hausner

Continuous processing for small molecule products has been a hot topic for years, but where does the industry stand with it today? We speak with Doug Hausner, Senior Manager, Continuous Manufacturing, Oral Solid Dose, Pharma Services at Thermo Fisher Scientific, to find out.

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...

Systematic investigation of the impact of screw elements in continuous wet granulation

10 Sep 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Katharina Kiricenko, Peter Kleinebudde, Robin Meier

Twin-screw wet granulation (TSG) is a continuous manufacturing technique either for granules as final dosage form or as an intermediate before tableting or capsule filling. A comprehensive process understanding is required to implement TSG, considering various parameters influencing granule and...

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...

The Rise of Continuous Manufacturing in Pharma

13 Aug 2024 | Website | Contributor(s): Editorial Team

"Mr Indu Bhushan, CEO and Director of STEERLife shares his insights on the transformative journey of continuous manufacturing, and the advanced technologies that have propelled this paradigm shift. He also throws light on how continuous manufacturing has accelerated drug development...

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...

Continuous Manufacturing in the Pharmaceutical Industry: Enhancing Drug Production

23 Jul 2024 | Website | Contributor(s): Timmerman, Siebe

A significant shift towards continuous manufacturing (CM) is currently underway in the pharmaceutical industry. Unlike the more commonly used batch processing, CM operates continuously. This method potentially offers increased efficiency, agility, and flexibility in the manufacturing of drug...

The effect of binder types on the breakage and drying behavior of granules in a semi-continuous fluid bed dryer after twin screw wet granulation

23 Jul 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Vandevivere, L., Denduyver, P., Portier, C., Häusler, O., De Beer, T., Vervaet, C., Vanhoorne, V.

Current study investigated the effect of different binder types on the granule drying process and the granule breakage behavior in a semi-continuous fluid bed dryer integrated in the C25 ConsiGma-system. The studied binders (i.e. hydroxypropyl pea starch, hydroxypropyl methylcellulose E15,...

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...

Twin Screw Melt Granulation: Alternative Approach for Improving Solubility and Permeability of a Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drug Ibuprofen

23 Jul 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Nyavanandi, Dinesh, Narala, Sagar, Mandati, Preethi, Alzahrani, Abdullah, Kolimi, Praveen, Almotairy, Ahmed, Repka, Michael A.

The current research is focused on investigating the suitability of the twin screw melt granulation (TSMG) approach for improving the solubility of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAIDs) drug (ibuprofen), by developing granules using lipid surfactants. The solubility of the drug within the...

Application of Transition-Metal Catalysis, Biocatalysis, and Flow Chemistry as State-of-the-Art Technologies in the Synthesis of LCZ696

23 Jul 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Gu, Xingxian, Zhao, Jibin, Chen, Like, Li, Yunzhong, Yu, Bo, Tian, Xiangguang, Min, Zhongcheng, Xu, Su, Gu, Huijuan, Sun, Junjie, Lu, Xiaoquan, Chang, Meng, Wang, Xufan, Zhao, Liqun, Ye, Shengqing, Yang, Hongwei, Tian, Yingtao, Gao, Feng, Gai, Yu, Jia, Guanghua, Wu, Jingjing, Wang, Yan, Zhang, Jianghua, Zhang, Xuesong, Liu, Weichun, Gu, Xin, Luo, Xi, Dong, Hai, Wang, Huaimin, Schenkel, Berthold, Venturoni, Francesco, Filipponi, Paolo, Guelat, Bertrand, Allmendinger, Thomas, Wietfeld, Bernhard, Hoehn, Pascale, Kovacic, Nikola, Hermann, Luca, Schlama, Thierry, Ruch, Thomas, Derrien, Nadine, Piechon, Philippe, Kleinbeck, Florian

LCZ696 is a novel treatment for patients suffering from heart failure that combines the two active pharmaceutical ingredients sacubitril and valsartan in a single chemical compound. While valsartan is an established drug substance, a new manufacturing process suitable for large-scale commercial...

One-Step Synthesis of 2-Fluoroadenine Using Hydrogen Fluoride Pyridine in a Continuous Flow Operation

23 Jul 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Salehi Marzijarani, Nastaran, Snead, David R., McMullen, Jonathan P., Lévesque, François, Weisel, Mark, Varsolona, Richard J., Lam, Yu-hong, Liu, Zhijian, Naber, John R.

We report the development of a one-pot synthesis of 2-fluoroadenine from an inexpensive 2,6-diaminopurine starting material using diazonium chemistry in a continuous fashion. Given the sensitivity of this transformation to temperature, we conducted critical experiments to study the exothermicity...

Process Intensification via End-to-End Continuous Manufacturing of Atorvastatin Calcium Using an Integrated, Modular Reaction-Crystallization-Spherical Agglomeration-Filtration-Drying Process

23 Jul 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Parvaresh, Rojan, Nagy, Zoltan K.

Continuous manufacturing can show potential benefits over batch processing in lower turnaround times and smaller footprint in addition to higher productivity, adaptability, and consistent product quality. Although these possible benefits exist, there are also challenges in integrating the various...

Process Intensification via End-to-End Continuous Manufacturing of Atorvastatin Calcium Using an Integrated, Modular Reaction-Crystallization-Spherical Agglomeration-Filtration-Drying Process

23 Jul 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Parvaresh, Rojan, Nagy, Zoltan K.

Continuous manufacturing can show potential benefits over batch processing in lower turnaround times and smaller footprint in addition to higher productivity, adaptability, and consistent product quality. Although these possible benefits exist, there are also challenges in integrating the various...

Implementation of a fully integrated continuous manufacturing line for direct compression and coating at a commercial pharmaceutical facility – Part 1: Operational considerations and control strategy

25 Jun 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Conway, Stephen L., Rosas, Juan G., Overton, Paul, Tugby, Neil, Cryan, Phillip, Witulski, Frank, Hurley, Samantha, Wareham, Laura, Tantuccio, Anthony, Ramasamy, Manoharan, Lalloo, Anita, Gibbs, Mason, Meyer, Robert F.

We implement a fully integrated continuous manufacturing (CM) line for direct compression and coating of a pharmaceutical oral solid dosage form in a commercial production facility. In this first paper of a two-part series, we describe process design and operational choices made to introduce CM...

Implementation of a fully integrated CM direct compression and coating process at a commercial pharmaceutical facility - Part 2: PAT and RTD results for normal operational conditions batches.

25 Jun 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Rosas, JG, Brush, P, Thompson, B, Miller, C, Overton, P, Tugby, N, Stoliarskaia, D, Hurley, S, Ramasamy, M, Conway, SL

This is the second of two articles detailing the continuous manufacturing (CM) development and implementation activities for an marketed product which have been realized in novel, qualified equipment, using validated control strategy elements to enable manufacture of batches under current good...

Telescoped Hybrid Batch–Flow Synthesis of 2-Butylbenzofuran

25 Jun 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Dedè, Fabiana, Ciancimino, Cristina, Danelli, Piero, Piccolo, Oreste, Vigo, Daniele

The present work describes the development of an improved synthesis of the pharmaceutically relevant building block 2-butylbenzofuran (BBF). The telescoped hybrid batch–flow process is composed of three steps and affords the final product in high yield and purity. The key cyclization step is...

Modular Synthesis of Benzoylpyridines Exploiting a Reductive Arylation Strategy

25 Jun 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Alfano, Antonella Ilenia, Smyth, Megan, Wharry, Scott, Moody, Thomas S., Baumann, Marcus

Herein we disclose a telescoped flow strategy to access electronically differentiated bisaryl ketones as potentially new and tunable photosensitizers containing both electron-rich benzene systems and electron-deficient pyridyl moieties. Our approach merges a light-driven (365 nm) and...

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...

A Tandem Ring Closure and Nitrobenzene Reduction with Sulfide Provides an Improved Route to an Important Intermediate for the Anti-Tuberculosis Drug Candidate Sutezolid

25 Jun 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Kalmode, Hanuman P., Ravikumar, Ongolu, Paymode, Dinesh J., Bachert, John, Burns, Justina M., Stringham, Rodger W., Aleshire, Sarah L., Nelson, Ryan C.

Sutezolid is an in-development thiomorpholine derivative of the FDA-approved tuberculosis (TB) treatment linezolid. Current synthetic routes for preparing sutezolid start with thiomorpholine as a key structural building block; unfortunately, this material was identified as a major cost driver for...

Continuous-Flow Synthesis of the Nucleobase Unit of Remdesivir

25 Jun 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Guo, Yongxing, Liu, Minjie, Jiang, Meifen, Tao, Yuan, Cheng, Dang, Chen, Fen-Er

In this work, the nucleobase unit of the antiviral drug remdesivir, 7-bromopyrrolo[2,1-f][1,2,4]triazin-4-amine, was synthesized through five-step continuous flow. By adapting batch synthetic chemistry, 7-bromopyrrolo[2,1-f][1,2,4]triazin-4-amine was successfully produced through sequential flow...

Continuous Platinum-Mediated Hydrogenation of Refametinib Iodo-nitroaniline Key Intermediate DIM-NA: The Combined Challenges of Selectivity and Catalyst Deactivation

25 Jun 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Baramov, Todor, Hassfeld, Jorma, Gottfried, Michael, Bauer, Hermann, Herrmann, Tanja, Ben Said, Mourad, Roggan, Stefan

The chemoselective, continuous, multistep reduction of iodo-nitroaromatics in a fixed-bed hydrogenation reactor has been investigated. This transformation poses challenges upon both the catalyst and process conditions if high yields are to be achieved. First, the stability and selectivity of four...

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...