Head of Development, Pharma Solutions BASF SE Ludwigshafen am rhein, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
The development of amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs) is a common strategy to enable the oral delivery of poorly water-soluble active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). Miscibility of an API with the matrix former is crucial for the long-term stability of the formulation, and identifying suitable polymers is one of the key challenges during formulation development. Unfortunately, even small-scale screening experiments can be time-consuming and costly. Here, we present a new computational approach based on mean-field theory and COSMO-RS to estimate the interaction parameter of API–monomer interactions and predict the excess free energies of mixing. The derived equations enable the prediction of the solid-liquid equilibrium and the construction of phase diagrams for binary API–polymer mixtures. These phase diagrams show thermodynamically stable, kinetically stable and unstable zones, and provide a thermodynamic estimate of the achievable API load. Ultimately, our approach presents a rapid screening method accelerating the development of ASDs.
Learning Objectives:
Upon completion, participants will be able to understand how a new computational method facilitates the rapid screening of API–polymer mixtures enabling a more efficient development of ASD formulations.
