Multi-column chromatography: a key technology in drug discovery

Chromatography is the process used to separate and purify drugs from a mixture of other materials. This separation is usually achieved by passing a mobile phase (solvent) containing the mixture down a column of a stationery solid phase.  As this passes down the column, the pure drug then separates from any other components.

While this method is very general and easy to set up, it suffers from high solvent consumption (generating waste) and from low productivity.  Multi-Column Chromatography (MCC) overcomes these issues by using several columns with variable injection and collection points to simulate a moving stationary phase.  The output containing the purified materials can be collected and excess solvent recovered and recycled to minimise waste.

Schematic of the MCC principle

UCB was the first biopharmaceutical company to take this technology traditionally used in the petrochemical industry and to apply it to the chiral separation of pharmaceutical ingredients on an industrial scale. More specifically, this system is used to separate enantiomers of Keppra®, UCB's anti-epileptic drug. In that process, the racemic mixture is injected on the system and is separated through a chiral stationary phase. The unwanted enantiomer is then recycled to regenerate a racemic mixture, which is separated again to increase the overall efficiency of the process. A smaller version of the MCC is used in research for the purification of enantiomerically pure drug candidates. This is especially useful when there is no information on the biological properties of the best enantiomer.

Due to its easy scalability, MCC is a powerful tool at UCB. It is easily adjusted to all the steps leading a product from research laboratory to industrial scale.