Workshop on design of experiments for optimizing pharmaceutical processes

Mr. Zaheer Abbas, Senior Formulation Scientist, AstraZeneca UK conducted the workshop with each session focussing on specific aspects of design of experiments (DoE) and its applications in the pharmaceutical industry. The introduction covered the historical context of DoE and its relevance to modern pharmaceutical processes. The benefits such as reducing experimental costs, improving process understanding, and enhancing product quality were highlighted. The session on types of experimental designs covered full factorial and fractional factorial designs, response surface methodology (RSM), Central composite design (CCD) and Box-Behnken design (BBD). The session on Applications in Pharmaceutical Processes illustrated the uses in formulation development, focusing on optimizing drug and excipient ratios, process optimization, such as adjusting parameters for tablet compression or granulation and Quality by Design (QbD) implementation, demonstrating the role of DoE in ensuring regulatory compliance. Participants engaged in hands-on exercises using statistical software tools designed for DoE. The workshop on Design of Experiments (DoE): Optimizing Pharmaceutical Processes was organized by the Pharmaceutics Department on April 30 at EC Campus.