Scalable technology for the extraction of pharmaceutics: outcomes from a 3 year collaborative industry/academia research programme.

This paper reports on some of the key outcomes of a 3 year £1.5m Technology Strategy Board (TSB) funded research programme to develop a small footprint, versatile, counter-current chromatography purification technology and methodology which can be operated at a range of scales in both batch and continuous modes and that can be inserted into existing process plant and systems. Our consortium, integrates technology providers (Dynamic Extractions) and the scientific development team (Brunel) with end user needs (GSK & Pfizer), addressing major production challenges aimed at providing flexible, low capital platform technology driving substantial cost efficiency in both drug development and drug manufacturing processes.

Scalable Technology for the Extraction of Pharmaceutics (STEP): the transition from academic knowhow to industrial reality.

This paper addresses the technological readiness of counter-current chromatography (CCC) instruments to become platform technology for the pharmaceutical industry. It charts the development of the prototype technology since its inception in 1966, through conceptual improvements in the 1980s that led to higher speed separations in hours as opposed to days. It then describes the engineering improvements that have led to the development of high performance counter-current chromatography with the potential for scale-up to process scale for manufacturing products in industry with separation times in minutes rather than hours.

Recycling solid supports--a head-to-tail linker.

The concept of a 'head-to-tail linker' designed to allow the regeneration and reuse of a variety of solid supports is introduced. The synthesis of this linker, its coupling to various solid supports, its application in a number of standard solid phase reactions and resin regeneration are presented.

Comparative performances of selected chiral HPLC, SFC, and CE systems with a chemically diverse sample set.

Pharmaceutical companies have a continuous need to resolve new racemates. Analysis may be required in aqueous and nonaqueous media, or in the presence of several different sets of potentially interfering compounds. There is often a preparative requirement.