“We estimate about 8,000 metric tonnes of solvent per year are used by the industry to support solvent-based spray drying. That’s a significant impact on cost, maintenance, safety and the environment,” says Elizabeth Hickman, CEO of AustinPx, highlighting a critical sustainability challenge in pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Elizabeth Hickman brings extensive experience in pharmaceutical contract manufacturing to her new role as CEO of AustinPx, having worked with several CDMOs and held leadership positions focused on developing innovative pharmaceutical technologies and business strategies.
In a recent interview, Elizabeth discusses how AustinPx’s innovative KinetiSol technology is eliminating the need for toxic solvents in pharmaceutical manufacturing while improving drug performance and reducing costs in the realm of amorphous solid dispersions (ASDs). She also shares insights on leadership and diversity in the pharmaceutical CDMO sector.
Understanding Amorphous Solid Dispersions: A Growing Market Need
The pharmaceutical industry’s reliance on spray drying for drug solubility is creating an increasingly urgent environmental problem. With approximately 70% of new molecules being poorly soluble, about half require enablement technology like spray drying – a process that consumes thousands of tonnes of toxic solvents annually. The outsourced amorphous dispersion market alone is estimated at £1.4 billion, with spray drying representing about £700 million of that total.
“An amorphous dispersion is a non-crystalline form of a drug dispersed in an amorphous form with an excipient matrix,” Elizabeth explains. “If you consider most APIs, they’re in a highly structured environment. When you break up that crystal lattice and take out all the order from the crystal, that’s an amorphous dispersion.”
The Environmental Impact of Traditional Manufacturing
Traditional spray drying technology, while effective, comes with significant environmental challenges. The process requires massive infrastructure and substantial amounts of organic solvents, particularly for high-melting-point drugs that can’t use heat-based conversion methods.
“The largest spray dryer I’ve seen is what’s called a PSD-6. It’s in a five-story building and requires a significant footprint,” Elizabeth notes. “As new drug candidates present more solubility challenges, we’re seeing the need for more toxic organic solvents at higher volumes.”
Innovation Through Serendipity: The Birth of KinetiSol Technology
AustinPx’s KinetiSol technology emerged from an unexpected connection between plastics recycling and pharmaceutical manufacturing. The technology offers a solvent-free alternative that significantly reduces environmental impact while improving drug performance.
“KinetiSol is a thermo-kinetic processing technology,” Elizabeth explains. “It utilizes high mixing speeds with frictional and shear force that rapidly solubilizes the drug into the excipient carrier. The facility requirements are very low – you don’t need nitrogen, you don’t need solvents, and the equipment can fit in a typical single-story manufacturing plant.”
The adoption of the technology has demonstrated multiple advantages for pharmaceutical manufacturers, extending beyond environmental benefits. According to Elizabeth, clients are seeing significant improvements in drug performance and manufacturing efficiency.
“They’re seeing higher bioavailability, improved stability of the amorphous dispersion, and manufacturing improvements,” Elizabeth explains. “We can make the amount of product that’s needed much faster, in a fraction of the time, and the particle characteristics have improved flow and compressibility.”
However, as with any innovative technology in the pharmaceutical sector, adoption presents its own challenges. “We work in a very risk-averse industry,” Elizabeth acknowledges. “Nobody wants to be the first waffle out of that iron, so to speak. We’ve got work to do as a company to show people that they have a path to commercialization.”
AustinPx is actively working on multiple paths to help pharmaceutical companies integrate KinetiSol technology into their manufacturing processes. These include:
– Equipment placement at client facilities
– Partnerships with CMO partners for equipment access
– Long-term investment in commercial manufacturing capabilities
“We’re working very hard to make sure that we work with commercial partners or our pharmaceutical partners, to understand what their commercial path is,” Elizabeth explains.
Leadership and Diversity in Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
As one of the few female CEOs in the CDMO industry, Elizabeth emphasizes the importance of creating inclusive workplace cultures and providing flexible work arrangements. “By offering flexible work options like remote work and flexible hours, we can help women better manage their work-life balance,” she states. “Leadership development programs and promoting workplace inclusivity are also key to empowering people to reach their full potential.”
Elizabeth emphasizes the importance of creating supportive workplace environments that foster diverse leadership. AustinPx has implemented several key initiatives:
1. Flexible Work Arrangements: Supporting work-life balance, especially for employees with family responsibilities
2. Leadership Development Programs: Empowering employees to reach their full potential
3. Workplace Inclusivity: Creating a team-based culture with psychological safety
4. Mentorship: Recognizing and nurturing talent across all levels of the organization
“When I think about my career and the flexibility I had working from home as a sales and marketing executive, and the support I had from both my supervisors and colleagues – having that flexibility was really key to allowing me to not only be there for my job but also my family,” Elizabeth reflects.
Learn more about AustinPx by visiting their website
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