Within the context of an EPSRC Prosperity Partnership on “Transforming synthetic drug manufacturing: novel processes, methods and tools”, our team of researchers are developing a knowledge-driven systems engineering framework for analytical and preparative HPLC methods that will ease the experimental workload needed for process development.
Prosperity Partnership
The PharmaSEL-Prosperity Partnership is a business-driven research programme led by the global pharmaceuticals company Eli Lilly and Company and three London universities – UCL, Imperial College London and Queen Mary University of London – with part funding by EPSRC and significant support from the partner institutions.
The road from the discovery of a drug molecule to a commercial product that benefits patients remains frustratingly long and arduous, with the total cost of development reaching $2.6bn and 10 years per new chemical entity. The Partnership aims to deliver novel systems-based engineering design methods for the rapid development of manufacturing processes for advanced synthetic drugs.
In-silico HPLC optimisation
In the Sargent Centre, researchers are investigating innovative drug substance purification techniques based on high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Our researchers are developing integrated HPLC systems and processes that will allow reducing the cost and time of performing advanced analytical chemistry significantly, a step that is required for the effective purification of drug substances. To achieve this, we are developing a framework that identifies the optimal combination of separation techniques and configurations for attaining the required drug substance purification and isolation.
This research programme will deliver fundamental understanding, models, technologies, and design methodologies for accelerating the isolation and purification of synthetic drugs, from small molecules to peptides. This will improve the design, control and optimisation of medicine manufacturing processes, ultimately resulting in better and cheaper treatments for patients, thus positioning the UK at the leading edge of expertise and innovation in the manufacturing of high-value synthetic drugs, contributing to the growth of a value-creating innovation ecosystem.
