Baricitinib is a novel active pharmaceutical ingredient
used in
the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, and it acts as an inhibitor
of Janus kinase. During the synthesis of baricitinib, three unknown
impurities were identified in several batches between 0.10 and 0.15%
using high-performance liquid chromatography. The unknown compounds
were isolated and identified as N-((3-(4-(7H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-yl)-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)-5-oxotetrahydrofuran-3-yl)methyl)ethane
sulfonamide (lactone impurity, BCL), 2-(3-(4-(7H-[4,7′-bipyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidin]-4′-yl)-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)-1-(ethylsulfonyl)azetidin-3-yl)acetonitrile
(dimer impurity, BCD), and 2-(1-(ethylsulfonyl)-3-(4-(7-(hydroxymethyl)-7H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-yl)-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)azetidin-3-yl) acetonitrile (hydroxymethyl,
BHM). These compounds were synthesized and confirmed against the isolated
samples. The structures of all the three impurities were confirmed
by extensive analysis of 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and
mass spectrometry. The lactone impurity formation was explained by
a plausible mechanism. The outcome of this study was very useful for
scientists working in process as well as in formulation development.
To synthesize highly pure baricitinib drug substance, these impurities
can be used as reference standards due to their potential importance.