Norvir ritonavir polymorphs

Ritonavir is a product of Abbott Laboratories Ltd. for the treatment of HIV and is marketed as Norvir , in liquid and semisolid capsule formulations. It received FDA approval for market launch in march 1996, at which time only one polymorphic form of Ritonavir (Form I) was known. Two years later in early 1998 a laboratory responsible for testing the formulated product in the US reported dissolution test failures of the semisolid capsules, and noted that drug product had precipitated out of solution. A new polymorphic form had been discovered that was thermodynamically more stable than the existing form and approximately 5 times less soluble in the formulation. Figure 7. 

Solid Form Selection A drug can exist in multiple forms in the solid state. If the two forms have the same molecular structure but different crystal packing, then they are polymorphs. Pseudopolymorphs (or solvatomorphs) differ in the level of hydration/solvation between forms. Polymorphs and pseudopolymorphs in principle will have a different solubility, melting point, dissolution rate, etc. While less thermodynamically stable, polymorphs have higher solubilities they also have the potential to convert to the more thermodynamically stable form. This form conversion can lead to reduced solubility for the formulated product. One example is ritonavir, a protease inhibitor compound used to treat acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Marketed by Abbott Labs as Norvir, this compound began production in a semisolid form and an oral liquid form. In July 1998, dissolution tests of several new batches of the product failed. The problem was traced to the appearance of a previously unknown polymorph (Form II) of the compound. This form is thermodynamically more stable than Form I and therefore is less soluble. In this case, the solubility is at least a factor of 2 below that of Form I.12 The discovery of this new polymorph ultimately led to a temporary withdrawal of the solid form of Norvir from the market and a search for a new formulation. 

An interesting example of polymorphic structure differentiation is that of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) protease inhibitors. The HIV protease inhibitors pose a serious problem in their bioavailability. Invirase showed only modest market performance, and it was soon superseded by drugs, such as ritonavir (Norvir) and indinavir sulfate (Crixivan ) that had better bioavailability. Three years after initial approval, saquinavir was reintroduced in a formulation with sixfold higher oral bioavailability relative to the original product. Ritonavir was originally launched as a semisolid dosage form, in which the waxy matrix contained the dispersed drug in order to achieve acceptable oral bioavailabiUty. Two years after its introduction, ritonavir... 

A dramatic example of the impact of crystal polymorphism on a drug formulation is that of ritonavir (Norvir ), used for the treatment of HIV patients. The problem arose in May of 1998, approximately two years after the launch of the drug, when researchers at the Abbott Laboratories became aware that after 240 production batches it was no longer possible to obtain ritonavir in the crystal form (Form I) approved by the FDA and required for the formulation of Norvir because of the sudden and unexpected appearance of a more stable and much less soluble crystal form (Form II, Fig. 3.3.17). The loss of control over the production process forced Abbott to withdraw the drug from the market for approximately one year until they learned how to replace the solid formulation with a gel capsule suspension with greater problems of stability and bioavailability. Subsequent investigations have led to the discovery of four other crystalline forms of ritonavir [33]. 

The appearance of a second polymorph of ritonavir (Norvir ) during production of a formulation based on the existing form 1 was a significant blow for Abbott Laboratories [2]. A hydrogen-bond propensity analysis was carried out [29] based on... 

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