Contract manufacturer Ash Stevens has added capabilities to its active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) facility in Michigan, with equipment for parallel synthesis and calorimetry supplied by HEL.
Ash Stevens said it will use the new equipment and instrumentation in its process development programmes.
'These investments allow us to rapidly optimise chemical processes and better understand process safety parameters prior to scale up,' said Dr Stephen Munk, president and chief executive officer of Ash Stevens.
The company has been manufacturing APIs since the 1960s, and has developed expertise in high-potency APIs (HPAPI), including cancer drugs.
The combined use of parallel synthesis with calorimetry instrumentation means that more reactions, spanning a broader range of conditions, can be achieved.
HEL's Polyblock parallel synthesis system captures real-time data and provides electronic records, useful for post-experiment analysis and safety enhancements.
These include the addition of HEL's thermal screening unit (TSU), which is used to evaluate the onset of thermal decomposition of reaction components.
'Traditionally, an experienced scientist could conduct two concurrent experiments manually in the laboratory,' said Russell Lee, HEL's US sales director.
'With the new system, multiple experiments can be conducted simultaneously.' The basic system has four reaction vessels and can be expanded to provide information concurrently.
