Process development and synthesis of process-related impurities of an efficient scale-up preparation of 5,2′-dibromo-2,4′,5′-trihydroxy diphenylmethanone as a new acute pyelonephritis candidate drug

Abstract

Based on a foregoing gram-scale laboratory process, an efficient scale-up preparation process of 5,2′-dibromo-2,4′,5′-trihydroxydiphenylmethanone (LM49-API), a new acute pyelonephritis candidate drug, was developed and validated aiming to reduce by-products and achieve better impurity profiles. Meanwhile, the polymorph of LM49-API and process-related impurities were also investigated. Ultimately, the optimal reaction conditions were verified by evaluating the impurity profiles and their formation during the synthesis. Six process-related impurities were synthesized and identified, being useful for the quality control of LM49-API. Its finalized preparation process was further validated at 329–410 g scale-up production in 53.4–57.1% overall yield with 99.95–99.98% high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) purity, and it is currently viable for commercial production. LM49-API-imC and LM49-API-imX were identified as the main single impurities in LM49-API, with the content controlled to be less than 0.03%.