Modular assembly line: a promising approach to reduce drug shortages, assure quality, and improve affordability.

The pharmaceutical industry faces multiple challenges (e.g., inefficient manufacturing techniques, quality control issues, and supply chain vulnerabilities) because of its current batch-wise approach to manufacturing. Recent regulatory support for continuous manufacturing and advances in continuous process technologies have caused an increase in interest from some drug manufacturers to modernize their production processes. However, many of these companies have focused on hybrid processes, where only certain steps are continuous, while others remain batch. Herein, the quality by design (QbD)-based design strategy and operation of an end-to-end integrated continuous manufacturing (ICM) pilot plant that produces both small-molecule active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and oral solid dosages (OSDs) are discussed. Additionally, important quality and economic matters pertaining to scale-up and commercialization are addressed. ICM has significant benefits, including better quality control, increased supply chain flexibility, a lower capital investment (in the example provided, a ∼ 90% reduction), and lower operating costs (in the example provided, a 33.6% reduction for API and 29.4% reduction for tablets).

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 heterogeneous Barbier-type Grignard reaction. After the model was characterized with laboratory-scale batch experiments, its performance was compared with experimental data collected under continuous operating conditions. Under nominal operating conditions, the experimentally measured conversion of morpholine amide varied from 94.3% to 96.7%, a range that was encompassed by the model. With a mechanistic model validated under continuous operating conditions, relationships between the magnesium charging interval and the variability in conversion of morpholine amide 1 to enone 2 were determined to further explore the experimental design space. The remaining unit operations were subsequently characterized, and the models developed for the individual operations were integrated into a flowsheet-level dynamic process model implemented in the gPROMS FormulatedProducts software. The impact of various process disturbances and model uncertainties on the critical quality attributes were then investigated, and critical process parameters, failure modes, and control strategies to address these disturbances were identified. The process was found to be most sensitive to operational disturbances in the supplied reactants: morpholine amide 1 and 2-bromopropene (2-BP). As 1 is manufactured upstream by the process described in Part 1 of this series, in silico analysis of potential process control strategies focused on manipulation of the 2-BP concentration and flow rate into the primary reactor. Overall, this work highlights the benefits of using mathematical modeling to deepen the understanding of pharmaceutical manufacturing processes and enable integrated unit operations in a continuous manufacturing setting.

This article details process characterization efforts and the development of corresponding process models to inform a process control strategy to produce a carfilzomib drug substance intermediate, morpholine amide 3. Model calibration for relevant unit operations and development of a dynamic integrated flowsheet-level model in gPROMS FormulatedProducts software allowed an investigation of the impact of process disturbances and model uncertainties on critical quality attributes (CQAs) and identification of critical process disturbances and failure modes to guide the process control strategy. The main CQA for this step was the conversion of Boc-D-leucine monohydrate (≥95%). The model was used to ensure that a state of control would be maintained in the presence of disturbances to target process parameters. The process was found to be robust against the analyzed disturbance scenarios, including worst-case combined disturbances. One case study highlights the dynamics of flow blockage for a key reagent, N,N′-carbonyldiimidazole (CDI), resulting from line clogging and the relationship between blockage duration and reaction conversion. The blockage was studied in silico, and the model demonstrated that the acceptance criteria for reaction conversion were met even with a flow rate reduction of 40%. The detrimental impact on the product concentration in the downstream process, however, required modification of the final distillation operation. The revised distillation column operation was demonstrated to address this concern and tolerated variable concentrations of morpholine amide while achieving the target water specification (<0.25 wt %). The results of this in silico analysis were verified with a production-scale demonstration of morpholine amide synthesis at a throughput of 12 kg/day to experimentally evaluate the impact of disturbances on the control strategy and overall performance of the system.

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