Molecular structure analysis is an important component of the CMC section in an IND submission. The goal is to gain a detailed understanding of the potential structure of degradants and impurities.

Patheon scientists develop, validate and implement stability indicating assays using standard HPLC, UPLC and PDA technologies. Detailed scientific analysis of drug substance lots, formulation and stability samples is used to note new impurities or degradants in samples. Proposed structures are then generated with the use of LC-MS/MS and predictive software – a Lhasa Limited Zeneth and DEREK (Deductive Estimation of Risk from Existing Knowledge).

By making this analysis seamlessly integrated in your project's overall early development program, Patheon is the most rapid and cost-effective way to go from molecule to market.

Case Study: Resolving Issues Before They Happen With Molecular Structure Analysis

The Challenge A new degradation product was observed in accelerated stability chromatograms for a new formulation. A tentative structural assignment was made by the customer's consultant but needed to be verified.

The Solution LC-MS/MS generated molecular weight and fragmentation pattern data verified the proposed structure. Surprisingly this structure was not predicted by Lhasa Zeneth software. However, Lhasa Zeneth did predict an oxidation product.

The Outcome Our analysis showed that a hydrolytic cascade could go on to form the degradation product. This result helped Patheon to design an improved formulation.