Major Research Areas

The RESEARCH OBJECTIVES of the Kildsig Center for Pharmaceutical Processing Research (CPPR) are to:

  • Improve understanding of drug products and manufacturing processes by studying of the interplay between physical and mechanical properties of pharmaceutical materials and processing conditions, and establishing the role of such interaction on the critical quality attributes of the resulting product.
  • Develop and refine new process monitoring and control technologies, leading to improved product quality, ease of manufacturing, and further process understanding.

CPPR research contributes to a reduction in the cost of drugs, time-to-market, and drug product shortages by facilitating process validation, improving safety assurance, and facilitating regulatory compliance.

The Center achieves its RESEARCH OBJECTIVES by:

  • fostering collaborative research projects between industrial and academic scientists,
  • promoting an interdisciplinary approach to solve current industrial challenges, and
  • training the next generation of process and development scientists for the changing needs of the pharmaceutical industry.

Research areas within the Center include:

  • Processes including
    • Mixing, granulation
    • Compaction
    • Lyophilization, spray-drying
    • Nanoparticulate processing
    • Hot melt extrusion
    • Freezing
    • 3D printing
    • Crystallization
  • Dosage forms including
    • Oral solids
    • Suspensions of micro- and nanoparticles
    • Inhalers
    • Injectables
    • Complex dosage forms
  • Drug substances including
    • Poorly soluble drugs
    • Polymorphic drugs
    • Therapeutic proteins
    • Nucleic acids
    • Emerging therapies
  • Analytical technologies including
    • Computer simulation and modeling
    • Spectroscopic and diffraction methods
    • Advanced imaging
    • Material property characterization