Pharmaceutical Process Development: Current Chemical and Engineering Challenges

Pharmaceutical process research and development is an exacting, multidisciplinary effort but a somewhat neglected discipline in the chemical curriculum. This book presents an overview of the many facets of process development and how recent advances in synthetic organic chemistry, process technology and chemical engineering have impacted on the manufacture of pharmaceuticals. In 15 concise chapters the book covers such diverse subjects as route selection and economics, the interface with medicinal chemistry, the impact of green chemistry, safety, the crucial role of physical organic measurements in gaining a deeper understanding of chemical behaviour, the role of the analyst, new tools and innovations in reactor design, purification and separation, solid state chemistry and its role in formulation. The book ends with an assessment of future trends and challenges. The book provides a valuable overview of: both early and late stage chemical development, how safe and scaleable synthetic routes are designed, selected and developed, the importance of the chemical engineering, analytical and manufacturing interfaces, the key enabling technologies, including catalysis and biocatalysis, the importance of the green chemical perspective and solid form issues. The book, written and edited by experts in the field, is a contemporary, holistic treatise, with a logical sequence for process development and mini-case histories within the chapters to bring alive different aspects of the process. It is completely pharmaceutical themed, encompassing all essential aspects, from route and reagent selection to manufacture of the active compound. The book is aimed at both graduates and postgraduates interested in a career in the pharmaceutical industry. It informs them about the breadth of the work carried out in chemical research and development departments, and gives them a feel for the challenges involved in the job. The book is also of value to academics who often understand the drug discovery arena, but have far less appreciation of the drug development area, and are thus unable to advise their students about the relative merits of careers in chemical development versus discovery.