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.

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 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

Pharmaceutical Continuous Manufacturing: Content Uniformity With PAT And RTR

16 Sep 2024 | Website | Contributor(s): Richard Steiner

In pharmaceutical continuous manufacturing (PCM), technical solutions ensuring critical quality attributes for content uniformity and unit dose exist for online, in-line, and at-line measurements. Process analytical technology (PAT) allows in-line measurement and control of critical process...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Manufacturing Process Development for Belzutifan, Part 2: A Continuous Flow Visible-Light-Induced Benzylic Bromination

25 Jun 2024 | Peer-reviewed journal | Contributor(s): Bottecchia, Cecilia, Lévesque, François, McMullen, Jonathan P., Ji, Yining, Reibarkh, Mikhail, Peng, Feng, Tan, Lushi, Spencer, Glenn, Nappi, Jarod, Lehnherr, Dan, Narsimhan, Karthik, Wismer, Michael K., Chen, Like, Lin, Yipeng, Dalby, Stephen M.

We report the development and scale-up of a continuous flow photochemical benzylic bromination en route to belzutifan (MK-6482), a small molecule for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma associated with Von Hippel–Lindau syndrome. Compared with the clinical supply route, the photochemical...

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...