A scalable, transferable, cooling crystallisation route to the elusive, metastable, form II of the API acetaminophen (paracetamol) has been developed using a multicomponent "templating" approach, delivering 100% polymorphic phase pure form II at scales up to 120 g. Favourable solubility and stability properties are found for the form II samples.

The first continuous crystallization of a metastable polymorphic form of an active pharmaceutical ingredient is reported. Paracetamol form II, which displays enhanced solubility and compressibility in comparison to the stable form I, has been successfully crystallized in two continuous platforms: a continuous oscillatory baffled crystallizer and a mixed suspension mixed product removal (MSMPR) system, in the presence of the structurally similar molecule metacetamol as a template molecule. Samples from both crystallizers display high polymorphic purity and high solid phase purity, with the samples from the MSMPR in particular showing no evidence of the presence of a residual template molecule. The crystallization was found to be rapidly transferrable between the two continuous platforms. Samples produced display good stability with respect to the known form II to form I transition, reflecting the polymorphic selectivity achieved.

Herein, we disclose the unique physical properties of diethanolamine (DEA) boronic esters that have facilitated the development of a simple and standard process for their synthesis and isolation using environmentally sustainable solvents. Moreover, their preparation is facile, robust, and scalable and can be telescoped from a solution of boronic acid or boronic ester via esterification/transesterification with DEA, therefore providing wide access from a plethora of reaction types. To date, AstraZeneca has successfully manufactured three DEA boronic esters at the kilogram scale (5, 50, and 100 kg batches), with plans to expand this to more examples in 2020.

A multidisciplinary approach covering synthetic, physical, and analytical chemistry, high-throughput experimentation and experimental design, process engineering, and solid-state chemistry is used to develop a large-scale (kilomole) Suzuki–Miyaura process. Working against clear criteria and targets, a full process investigation and optimization package is described highlighting how and why key decisions are made in the development of large-scale pharmaceutical processes.