Venkatapuram Palaniswamy

Influence of Formaldehyde Impurity in Polysorbate 80 and PEG‐300 on the Stability of a Parenteral Formulation of BMS‐204352: Identification and Control of the Degradation Product

The purpose of this study was to identify a degradation product formed in the clinical parenteral formulation of BMS‐204352, investigate the role of excipients in its formation, and develop a strategy to minimize/control its formation. The degradant was identified as the hydroxy methyl derivative (formaldehyde adduct, BMS‐215842) of the drug substance based upon liquid chromatography/mass spectroscopy (LC/MS), liquid chromatography/mass spectroscopy/mass spectroscopy (LC/MS/MS), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and chromatographic comparison to an authentic sample of hydroxymethyl degradation product, BMS‐215842. An assay method for the detection of formaldehyde based on HPLC quantitation of formaldehyde dinitrophenylhydrazone was developed to quantitate its levels in various Polysorbate 80 and PEG 300 excipient lots. A direct relationship between the levels of formaldehyde in the excipients and the formation of the hydroxymethyl degradant was found. To confirm the hypothesis that the formaldehyde impurity in these two excipients contributed to the formation of the hydroxymethyl degradant, several clinical formulation lots were spiked with formaldehyde equivalent to 1, 10, and 100 mg/g of BMS‐204352. A correlation was found between the formaldehyde level and the quantity of the hydroxymethyl degradant formed upon storage at 5 and 25°C. From these experiments, a limit test on the formaldehyde content in polysorbate 80 and PEG 300 can be set as part of a strategy to limit the formation of the degradation product.

Identification and Control of a Degradation Product in Avapro™ Film-Coated Tablet: Low Dose Formulation

A degradation product was formed during the long-term stability studies (LTSS) of the low dose formulation of Avapro™ film-coated tablet. The degradant was identified as the hydroxymethyl derivative (formaldehyde adduct) of the drug substance, irbesartan, based upon analysis with LC/MS, LC/MS/MS, and chromatographic comparison to the synthetic hydroxymethyl degradation product. Laboratory studies demonstrated that the interaction of individual excipients with the drug substance at elevated temperature and polyethylene glycol (PEG) used in the coating material, Opadry™ II White, leads to the generation of this formaldehyde adduct. Spiking of formaldehyde to the solution of drug substance gradually produced this impurity and the kinetics studies demonstrated that the reaction between formaldehyde and irbesartan is a second order reaction with a rate constant of 2.6 × 10−4 M−1min−1 at 25°C in an aqueous media. The redevelopment of the formulation by eliminating PEG from the Opadry™ II White dry-blend system was enabled by understanding the formaldehyde adduct formation.

Improving the efficiency of quantitative 1H NMR: An innovative external standard–internal reference approach

The classical internal standard quantitative NMR (qNMR) method determines the purity of an analyte by the determination of a solution containing the analyte and a standard. Therefore, the standard must meet the requirements of chemical compatibility and lack of resonance interference with the analyte as well as a known purity. The identification of such a standard can be time consuming and must be repeated for each analyte. In contrast, the external standard qNMR method utilizes a standard with a known purity to calibrate the NMR instrument. The external standard and the analyte are measured separately, thereby eliminating the matter of chemical compatibility and resonance interference between the standard and the analyte. However, the instrumental factors, including the quality of NMR tubes, must be kept the same. Any deviations will compromise the accuracy of the results. An innovative qNMR method reported herein utilizes an internal reference substance along with an external standard to assume the role of the standard used in the traditional internal standard qNMR method. In this new method, the internal reference substance must only be chemically compatible and be free of resonance-interference with the analyte or external standard whereas the external standard must only be of a known purity. The exact purity or concentration of the internal reference substance is not required as long as the same quantity is added to the external standard and the analyte. The new method reduces the burden of searching for an appropriate standard for each analyte significantly. Therefore the efficiency of the qNMR purity assay increases while the precision of the internal standard method is retained.

Degradation of a Lyophilized Formulation of BMS-204352: Identification of Degradants and Role of Elastomeric Closures

The purpose of this study was to identify two degradation products formed in the parenteral lyophilized formulation of BMS-204352, investigate the possible role of elastomeric closures in their formation, and develop a strategy to minimize/control their formation. The first degradant was identified as the hydroxymethyl derivative (formaldehyde adduct, BMS-215842) of the drug substance formed by the reaction of BMS-204352 with formaldehyde. Structure confirmation was based on liquid chromatography/mass spectroscopy (LC/MS), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and chromatographic comparison to an authentic sample of the hydroxymethyl degradation product, BMS-215842. To confirm the hypothesis that formaldehyde originated from the rubber closure, migrated into the product, and reacted with BMS-204352 drug substance to form the hydroxymethyl degradant, lyophilized drug product was manufactured, the vials were stoppered with two different rubber closure formulations, and its stability was monitored. The formaldehyde adduct degradant was observed only in the drug product vials stoppered with one of the rubber closures that was evaluated. Although formaldehyde has not been detected historically as leachable and is not an added ingredient in the rubber formulation, information obtained from the stopper manufacturer indicated that the reinforcing agent used in the stopper formulation may be a potential source of formaldehyde. The second degradant was identified as the desfluoro hydroxy analog (BMS-188929) based on LC/MS, NMR, and chromatographic comparison to an authentic sample of the desfluoro hydroxy degradation product.

A reinvestigation of the D-homoannular rearrangement and subsequent degradation pathways of (11β,16α)-9-Fluoro-11,15,17,21-tetrahydroxypregna-1,4-diene-3,20-dione (triamcinolone)

Abstract The commercial anti-inflammatory drug triamcinolone has been shown to rearrange by similar, but distinct pathways when exposed to certain trace metal ions or to dilute aqueous base. In the presence of aqueous base, the 16-hydroxy-20-keto system undergoes reverse aldol cleavage of the 16,17-bond, followed by aldol cyclization linking C-16 to 20. This base-catalyzed reaarangement gives a 16β,17α-dihydroxy product and a corresponding 16α,17α-dihydroxy product in roughly 4 to 1 ratio. Metal-catalyzed rearrangement provides the 16α,17α-dihydroxy product with extremely high stereoselectivity. Mechanistic models are proposed that help explain the ratio of products isolated from each route. The studies presented suggest that similar forms of rearrangement could be of preparative value in syntheses requiring specific stereochemistry of appropriately substituted bicyclic α,β-dihydroxyketones. Under more vigorous conditions of aqueous base treatment these reaarangement products undergo further decomposition with loss of formaldehyde from the hydroxymethyl group, followed by β-elimination of water. Reaction of the β-elimination product with formaldehyde results in the formation of a dimeric species linked by a methylene group.

N-N migration of a carbamoyl group in a pyrazole derivative revealed by NMR

During a synthesis of 5‐amino‐4‐(6‐methoxy‐2‐methylpyridin‐3‐yl)‐3‐methyl‐1H‐pyrazole‐1‐carboxamide (see Scheme 1), a side‐reaction produced 3‐amino‐4‐(6‐methoxy‐2‐methylpyridin‐3‐yl)‐5‐methyl‐1H‐pyrazole‐1‐carboxamide as a by‐product that forms an equilibrium with the target‐compound. The structure of the by‐product was elucidated by the interpretation of 1D and 2D (HMQC, HMBC) NMR data where 1H‐15 N HMBC correlations revealed the position of carbamoyl group attachment on the pyrazole. Comparison of structures of the target‐compound and the by‐product showed that the latter resulted from N‐N migration of the carbamoyl group in the target‐compound. Copyright

Identification of by-products in support of process development of Muraglitazar.

Muraglitazar was being developed by Bristol-Myers Squibb for the treatment for type 2 diabetes and dislipidemia. Process optimization included the minimization of the by-products. This endeavor was greatly facilitated by a clear understanding of by-product identity. By-products were isolated by preparative chromatography and identified using NMR and MS. The identified structures of the by-products provided useful information about the undesired side reactions, which were then minimized or eliminated by altering the reaction conditions appropriately. Copyright