Drug Development

The bioavailability of some insoluble drugs is enhanced when they are dissolved in the solubilizing agent macrogol 400, although conventional hard capsules cannot tolerate the agent. This article investigates a PVA copolymer, which has been developed by the authors, examining its properties and its suitability as a material in capsule formulations.

Following the launch of its initiative, "Pharmaceutical cGMPs for the 21st Century: A Risk-Based Approach," FDA has been looking to process analytical technology (PAT) for improvements in process efficiency and quality. This article discusses the implementation of PAT systems into production environments, its impact on quality assurance and the necessity of an integrated approach. Options for implementing PAT are also presented.

This article examines European differences in GMP requirements for the acceptance of Certificates of Tests. The authors look at how pharmaceutical manufacturers can address the issues and suggest a US-compatible framework for GMPs that could be incorporated into EU requirements.

FDA is expanding electronic data submission programmes to improve regulatory operations, and ensure appropriate and safe drug use.

Europe is debating the process by which drugs receive marketing authorization. As ever, the debating table features the EU, the pharmaceutical industry and the usual suspects among the European lobbies. The crux of the matter? Should comparative efficacy play a role in marketing authorizations?

Cationic liposomes are widely used in gene therapy as a safe alternative to highly immunogenic viral vectors. Attachment of a tissue-specific ligand to the surface of the liposomes can increase specificity and reduce undesired transfection. Targeted liposomes can be categorized as either immunoliposomes or ligand-targeted liposomes. The author provides a brief review of tumour-specific and liver-targeted cationic liposomes and strategies for the development of liposome?ligand complexes.

In this article the authors examine a number of significant amendments to US policy regarding generic pharmaceuticals. These important changes could have a major impact not only on the US pharmaceutical market, but also globally. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) implemented new regulations, effective from 19 August 2003, that promise to benefit generic pharmaceutical companies in several ways. Significantly, they seek to prevent multiple 30-month stays and resolve much of the uncertainty regarding which patents may properly be listed in FDA's Orange Book.1,2

This article describes the use of a one-pot processor for the cleaning and cleaning validation of two drug compounds - water-soluble theophylline and water-insoluble mebendazole. Both substances were produced using wet granulation and microwave drying, after which the processor was cleaned using its clean-in-place (CIP) system. Swab samples were taken from areas considered critical during processing and analysed for remains of active ingredient. It was concluded from the results that the processor's CIP system is capable of removing both moieties to a level well within accepted regulations.

The authors examine the development and performance of coprocessed excipients, including testing them for flowability, compressibility, amd dilution potential.

This article reflects on the challenges that predicting powder flowability currently pose to the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry and considers some of the benefits that can accrue when companies overcome these issues.

Based on a German initiative, an international standard on quality management systems for the primary packaging materials of medicinal products is discussed in this article. This new directive will help to standardize the production of primary packaging materials by defining global requirements.

The influence of light on the rate of moisture gain was investigated in 36 drug substances and 18 excipients.

The author provides a brief review of tumor-specific and liver-targeted cationic liposomes and the strategies for the development of liposome-ligand complexes.

When implementing computerized systems, it is important that both purchasers and vendors ensure that each stage of the process (from planning through operation to modifying) is properly validated. This article looks at some of the issues that arise when switching from traditional document-based procedures, and at the benefits that computerized systems can bring.

The importance of calibrating instruments used in manufacturing processes is well known, particularly for highly regulated industries such as pharmaceutical production. This article discusses software applications used to support calibration management, and the potential economic gain to be had by replacing a standalone software application with a capable enterprise system.

The Six Sigma approach would appear to be ideally suited to pharmaceutical processes, yet the industry has been very slow to adopt it. This article looks at the possible reasons for this, and suggests an alternative methodology that takes advantage of Six Sigma tools and techniques, backed by good statistical principles.

The use of solid dispersion technology to increase the bioavailability of poorly water-soluble drugs has always been limited by processing and scale-up difficulties. A new approach may help to overcome some of the problems.

One of the greatest challenges facing biopharmaceutical manufacturers has been the primary recovery of recombinant materials from transgenic sources. As an alternative to existing methods, vibrating membrane technology, which is widely used in food and beverage processing, recently has been adapted to biopharmaceutical applications involving transgenic biosolutions.

With the advent of regulations such as 21 CFR Part 11 and the introduction of the electronic common technical document, it is becoming increasingly important to be able to enhance and fully utilize data management systems. Document change management is a vital tool in the construction and organization of valuable information, and can play a key role in the all-important process of getting a product to market.

Until specific audit trail requirements are available from the US Food and Drug Administration, manufacturers must define their own parameters for software system compliance and decide for themselves how to meet those requirements.

This case study describes how a major pharmaceutical manufacturer was equipped with four filling lines, for metered dose inhalers, supplied with a nitrogen cooling system to prevent spontaneous vaporization of the propellant gas. By doing so, a cost-effective and environmentally friendly solution was provided to a hazardous situation, which also complied with regulatory directives.

The aim of this study was to validate the automated clean-in-place (CIP) system installed on a capsule filling machine to determine its ability to adequately eliminate contaminants. The results obtained from the proposed cleaning validation trial showed that all the soluble tracer was removed after the washing procedure. At the end of the CIP procedure, the discharged water had the same pH, phosphate content and total organic content as the supplied water. Lack of cross-contamination in the product was also demonstrated and a recovery trial highlighted the complete elimination of the tracer from the machine.

Previous articles have presented a general review of the different types of spheres that can be obtained with a rotary fluidized bed process.1,2 This two-part study focusses on lipid spheres that can be prepared using hydrogenated castor oil, as well as examining the feasibility of the process and the main characteristics of the spheres obtained.

Erythritol is a bulk sweetener polyol that is suitable for a variety of reduced-calorie and sugar-free foods. It has been part of the human diet for thousands of years because of its presence in foods such as fruit, mushrooms and fermentation-derived products including wine, soy sauce and cheese. This article investigates the properties of erythritol and describes how it can be used as a pharmaceutical excipient.

Pharmaceutical science & technology news.