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...

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 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...

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...

Matrix-assisted cocrystallization (MAC) simultaneous production and formulation of pharmaceutical cocrystals by hot-melt extrusion

23 Jul 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Boksa, Kevin, Otte, Andrew, Pinal, Rodolfo

A novel method for the simultaneous production and formulation of pharmaceutical cocrystals, matrix-assisted cocrystallization (MAC), is presented. Hot-melt extrusion (HME) is used to create cocrystals by coprocessing the drug and coformer in the presence of a matrix material. Carbamazepine...

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...

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...

Axial Chirality in the Sotorasib Drug Substance, Part 2: Leveraging a High-Temperature Thermal Racemization to Recycle the Classical Resolution Waste Stream

25 Jun 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Beaver, Matthew G., Brown, Derek B., Campbell, Kiersten, Fang, Yuan-Qing, Ford, David D., Mardirossian, Narbe, Nagy, Kevin D., Rötheli, Andreas R., Sheeran, Jillian W., Telmesani, Reem, Parsons, Andrew T.

The development and kilogram-scale demonstration of a high-temperature continuous-flow racemization process to recycle the off-enantiomer of an atropisomeric sotorasib intermediate is described. Part 1 of this two-part series details the design and execution of a classical resolution to generate...

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...

Development and Scale-Up of a Continuous Manufacturing Process for a Hydrazine Condensation Reaction

25 Jun 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Zhu, Ruiheng, Reddy, Ramesh, Ding, Man, Xu, Ming, Deng, Chaoyi, Tadayon, Sam, Li, Hui, Depew, Kristopher, Lane, Benjamin

The development of a continuous manufacturing process for a hydrazine condensation reaction at high temperature is reported. This continuous process represents a safer approach to manufacture 3-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-5-amine at scale and exhibits better impurity control compared to a traditional batch...

A Virtual Plant for Integrated Continuous Manufacturing of a Carfilzomib Drug Substance Intermediate, Part 2: Enone Synthesis via a Barbier-Type Grignard Process

25 Jun 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Içten, Elçin, Maloney, Andrew J., Beaver, Matthew G., Zhu, Xiaoxiang, Shen, Dongying E., Robinson, Jo Anna, Parsons, Andrew T., Allian, Ayman, Huggins, Seth, Hart, Roger, Rolandi, Pablo, Walker, Shawn D., Braatz, Richard D.

This article details efforts to characterize and develop a process control strategy for the manufacture of enone 2, a carfilzomib drug substance intermediate obtained through a Barbier-type Grignard reaction of morpholine amide 1. This includes the development of a novel mechanistic model for the...

A Virtual Plant for Integrated Continuous Manufacturing of a Carfilzomib Drug Substance Intermediate, Part 3: Manganese-Catalyzed Asymmetric Epoxidation, Crystallization, and Filtration

25 Jun 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Maloney, Andrew J., Içten, Elçin, Capellades, Gerard, Beaver, Matthew G., Zhu, Xiaoxiang, Graham, Lauren R., Brown, Derek B., Griffin, Daniel J., Sangodkar, Rahul, Allian, Ayman, Huggins, Seth, Hart, Roger, Rolandi, Pablo, Walker, Shawn D., Braatz, Richard D.

This article describes the process characterization and development of models to inform a process control strategy to prepare (R,R)-epoxy ketone 2, an intermediate in the manufacture of carfilzomib. Model calibration for relevant unit operations and the development of a dynamic integrated...

Development of a Continuous Flow Process for a Matteson Reaction: From Lab Scale to Full-Scale Production of a Pharmaceutical Intermediate

25 Jun 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Stueckler, Clemens, Hermsen, Peter, Ritzen, Bas, Vasiloiu, Maria, Poechlauer, Peter, Steinhofer, Stefan, Pelz, Andreas, Zinganell, Christopher, Felfer, Ulfried, Boyer, Serge, Goldbach, Michel, de Vries, André, Pabst, Thomas, Winkler, Georg, LaVopa, Vito, Hecker, Scott, Schuster, Christian

Within this paper, we present the design, development, and scale-up of a process for a continuous Matteson reaction to produce a key intermediate toward the β-lactamase inhibitor vaborbactam. This includes the successful implementation of the continuous concept at a multiton production scale for...

A Continuous Flow Sulfuryl Chloride-Based Reaction—Synthesis of a Key Intermediate in a New Route toward Emtricitabine and Lamivudine

25 Jun 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Souza, Juliana M. de, Berton, Mateo, Snead, David R., McQuade, D. Tyler

We demonstrate a continuous two-step sequence in which sulfenyl chloride is formed, trapped by vinyl acetate, and chlorinated further via a Pummerer rearrangement. These reactions produce a key intermediate in our new approach to the oxathiolane core used to prepare the antiretroviral medicines...

Development of a Green and Sustainable Manufacturing Process for Gefapixant Citrate (MK-7264) Part 4: Formylation–Cyclization as a Flow–Batch Process Leads to Significant Improvements in Process Mass Intensity (PMI) and CO Generated versus the Batch–

25 Jun 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Otte, Douglas A. L., Basu, Kallol, Jellett, Lisa, Whittington, Michael, Spencer, Glenn, Burris, Matthew, Corcoran, Emily B., Stone, Kevin, Nappi, Jarod, Arvary, Rebecca A., Donoghue, David, Ren, Hong, Maloney, Kevin M., Naber, John R.

Gefapixant citrate (MK-7264) is a P2X3 antagonist for the treatment of chronic cough. The second generation manufacturing route developed for the Step 3A/3B formylation–cyclization reaction to generate the key intermediate diaminopyrimidine (1) (AF-072) required a significant excess of ethyl...

Continuous Selective Hydrogenation of Refametinib Iodo-nitroaniline Key Intermediate DIM-NA over Raney Cobalt Catalyst at kg/day Scale with Online UV–Visible Conversion Control

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

The continuous selective hydrogenation of the iodo-nitroaromatic refametinib active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) intermediate (2,3-difluoro-5-methoxy-6-nitro-phenyl)-(2-fluoro-4-iodo-phenyl)-amine (DIM-NA) to the corresponding iodo-aniline...