Background:
Axitinib (AXT) is a member of the new generation of the kinase inhibitor indicated for the
treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma. Its therapeutic benefits depend on assuring the good-quality of its dosage forms
in terms of content and stability of the pharmaceutical active ingredient.
Objective:
This study was devoted to the development of a simple, sensitive and accurate stability-indicating highperformance liquid chromatographic method with ultraviolet detection (HPLC-UV) for determination of AXT in its bulk
and dosage forms.
Methods:
Waters HPLC system was used. The chromatographic separation of AXT, internal standard (olaparib), and
degradation products were performed on Nucleosil CN column (250 4.6 mm, 5 µm ). The mobile phase consisted of
water:acetonitrile:methanol (40:40:20, v/v/v) with a flow rate of 1 ml/min, and the UV detector was set at 225 nm. AXT
was subjected to different accelerated stress conditions and the degradation products, when any, were completely resolved
from the intact AXT.
Results:
The method was linear (r = 0.9998) in the concentration range of 5 - 50 μg/ml. The limits of detection and
quantitation were 0.85 and 2.57 μg/ml, respectively. The accuracy of the method, measured as recovery, was in the range
of 98.0 - 103.6% with relative standard deviations in the range of 0.06 - 3.43%. The results of stability testing revealed that
AXT was mostly stable in neutral and oxidative conditions; however, it was unstable in alkaline and acidic conditions. The
kinetics of degradation were studied, and the kinetic rate constants were determined. The proposed method was successfully
applied for the determination of AXT in bulk drug and dosage form.
Conclusions:
A stability-indicating HPLC-UV method was developed and validated for assessing AXT stability in its bulk
and dosage form. The method met the regulatory requirements of the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) and
the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The results demonstrated that the method would have a great value when applied
in quality control and stability studies for AXT.