Effect of coating excipients on chemical stability of active coated tablets.

The objective of this study was to understand the impact of coating excipients on the chemical stability of active pan coated peliglitazar, which was prone to acid as well as base-catalyzed degradation. Four different coating formulations containing either polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) or hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) as a coating polymer and triacetin (glycerol triacetate) or polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a plasticizer/detackifier were used for coating of peliglitazar in a perforated pan coater. Tablets of one-milligram strength were manufactured by suspending the drug in the coating suspension and spray coating onto inert core tablets. The active coated tablets were placed on stability (40 °C/75% RH) in high-density polyethylene (HDPE) bottles in closed condition with desiccants or in open condition. Tablet samples were withdrawn and analyzed for degradants using a stability-indicating HPLC method. The overall stability for the film-forming polymer-plasticizer/detackifier combination showed the rank order: HPMC-triacetin > PVA-triacetin > HPMC-PEG > PVA-PEG. Higher stability of triacetin systems over PEG systems was attributed to lower solubility of peliglitazar in triacetin coating systems. For the same plasticizer/detackifier, higher stability of HPMC over PVA-based formulations was attributed to lower solubility and mobility of peliglitazar in HPMC compared with the PVA-based coating.

Buffer exchange path influences the stability and viscosity upon storage of a high concentration protein.

High concentration protein solutions are generally produced by spin column concentration (SCC) during early development and by tangential flow filtration (TFF) during later stages, when greater quantities of protein become available. This is based on the assumption that the protein generated by the SCC process would be fairly similar to the TFF process material. In this study, we report the case of high concentration solutions of an Fc fusion protein produced by the two processes using the same upstream drug substance (DS) with very different storage stability. The TFF and SCC batches were characterized for aggregation, viscosity, and hydrodynamic radius before and after storage at different temperatures (5°C, 25 °C, and 40 °C). Aggregation and viscosity of the solutions processed by TFF were higher than those processed by SCC upon storage at 25 °C and 40 °C for three months. Differential scanning fluorimetry (DSF) revealed differences in initial protein conformation. Upon exposure to shear stress, protein solutions showed conformational instability and increased aggregation upon storage at 35 °C. In addition, protein solution showed higher aggregation upon shearing under mixed (downstream purification process and final formulation) buffer conditions - which are more likely to be encountered during the TFF, but not SCC, process. These results were further confirmed in an independent experiment by Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and aggregation analysis. Taken together, these data indicate that shearing the protein in intermediate, unstable buffer conditions can lead to conformational perturbation during TFF processing, which led to higher rate of aggregation and viscosity upon storage. This study highlights the importance of testing shear stress sensitivity in the transitional buffer states of the TFF process early in development to de-risk process related product instability.

Investigation into stability of poly(vinyl alcohol)-based Opadry® II films.

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)-based formulations are used for pharmaceutical tablet coating with numerous advantages. Our objective is to study the stability of PVA-based coating films in the presence of acidic additives, alkaline additives, and various common impurities typically found in tablet formulations. Opadry® II 85F was used as the model PVA-based coating formulation. The additives and impurities were incorporated into the polymer suspension prior to film casting. Control and test films were analyzed before and after exposure to 40°C/75% relative humidity. Tests included film disintegration, size-exclusion chromatography, thermal analysis, and microscopy. Under stressed conditions, acidic additives (hydrochloric acid (HCl) and ammonium bisulfate (NH(4)HSO(4))) negatively impacted Opadry® II 85F film disintegration while NaOH, formaldehyde, and peroxide did not. Absence of PVA species from the disintegration media corresponded to an increase in crystallinity of PVA for reacted films containing HCl. Films with NH(4)HSO(4) exhibited slower rate of reactivity and less elevation in melting temperature with no clear change in melting enthalpy. Acidic additives posed greater risk of compromise in disintegration of PVA-based coatings than alkaline or common impurities. The mechanism of acid-induced reactivity due to the presence of acidic salts (HCl vs. NH(4)HSO(4)) may be different.

Identification and control of a degradation product in Avapro film-coated tablet: low dose formulation.

A degradation product was formed during the long-term stability studies (LTSS) of the low dose formulation of Avapro film-coated tablet. The degradant was identified as the hydroxymethyl derivative (formaldehyde adduct) of the drug substance, irbesartan, based upon analysis with LC/MS, LC/MS/MS, and chromatographic comparison to the synthetic hydroxymethyl degradation product. Laboratory studies demonstrated that the interaction of individual excipients with the drug substance at elevated temperature and polyethylene glycol (PEG) used in the coating material, Opadry II White, leads to the generation of this formaldehyde adduct. Spiking of formaldehyde to the solution of drug substance gradually produced this impurity and the kinetics studies demonstrated that the reaction between formaldehyde and irbesartan is a second order reaction with a rate constant of 2.6 x 10(-4) M(-1)min(-1) at 25 degrees C in an aqueous media. The redevelopment of the formulation by eliminating PEG from the Opadry II White dry-blend system was enabled by understanding the formaldehyde adduct formation.