Continuous crystallization has gained interest in the pharmaceutical sector as part of the drive toward the transition from exclusive batch manufacturing to integrated continuous manufacturing in this industry. As a result, the design and operation of continuous crystallization processes for the preparation of pharmaceutical materials has been featured strongly in recent scientific literature. This review is an effort to gather together all of the published understanding on continuous crystallization with a pharmaceutical focus and to benchmark progress to date in realizing the potential benefits of transitioning this stalwart pharmaceutical unit operation from batch to continuous configurations.

Crystallization is the primary process used to purify synthetic drug substances and intermediates as well as to control bulk properties, including particle size, surface area, and flowability. Accordingly, new or improved tools to aid crystallization design are of central importance to drug development. In this Perspective, we provide a brief review of the state of the art, identify current challenges, and highlight key opportunities within different aspects of crystallization process development for synthetic pharmaceutical compounds.

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3D-printed parts in PEEK for flow chemistry and continuous processing produced using fused filament fabrication.