New technology benefits pharmaceutical corporations

Pharmaceutical companies can save millions of pounds thanks to a new technology that can control crystal formation. This technology developed by University of Leeds engineers is an invaluable tool in drug production when controlling the shape of the crystal is crucial to the cost and safety of the product. Products.

Most drug compounds have crystalline form, their structure can affect their physical properties and performance. Unexpected changes in the production process are the cause of structural changes.

Dr. Robert Hammond of the Department of Engineering, who led the research team, said: 'If you use a pencil to write on a glass, it is very difficult, but using diamonds you can write your name completely. Both of these are pure carbon. It is like the different forms of the same drug, they can have completely different properties. '

'Drug molecules are becoming increasingly complex. The challenge in pharmaceutical processing shows that it is not always possible to create the desired form. That's why our system has such great potential. We can observe crystals when they are forming in a reactor, something that never existed before. '

New technology helps identify and control crystal structure changes right on the production line. This is a method to ensure the desired compound yield. This system was developed by University of Leeds engineers in collaboration with X Bede Beam Measurement System - part of the Chemicals Behaving Badly program funded by EPSRC.

X-ray diffraction powder determines the Beta version of L-Glutamic acid.(Photo: University of Leeds)

Changes in the crystal structure, or polymorphism, can lead to delays in delivering drugs to the market, causing pharmaceutical companies to lose millions of pounds. It also challenges intellectual property protection. In some typical cases, companies make it difficult to create an invention by making a previously established formula that uses another crystal structure.

Dr. Hammond explains: 'It is a big problem for pharmaceutical companies. Their invention is extremely valuable - they are recognized for 20 years, but it takes 10 years to bring a new drug to market. This means that they have only 10 years to recover production and development costs. '

The technology developed at Leeds is based on a ' metallic needle ' method to control the crystal structure - X-ray diffraction powder, a tool for studying polymorphic substances.

Dr. Hammond stressed: 'This technology has tremendous commercial potential, for example it can grow at the factory, enterprise or specialized chemical industry. We are very interested in negotiating with specialized pharmaceutical and chemical companies to promote the development of the above technology. '