2025 CONVENTION
Successful formulation expansion and scale-up of dasatinib immediate-release tablets: A study of a high-dose-low-dose bridging strategy
In Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors (TKIs) clinical practice, low-dose formulations are essential for managing side effects and enabling personalized therapy. However, dosage-dependent differences in physical properties affect dissolution, making equivalence evaluation critical. This study aimed to establish a commercial manufacturing process capable of producing high- to low-dose TKI tablets and to suggest a development strategy to overcome the challenges encountered during this process. The representative 100 mg formulation was optimized using a QbD approach, and the same process was scaled up for the 20 mg formulation. The 20 mg tablets showed reproducible hardness and friability, confirming process scalability. However, in comparative dissolution of a single 20 mg tablet, the similarity factor (f2) was below 50, failing to demonstrate pharmaceutical equivalence. When five 20 mg tablets (equivalent to 100 mg) were tested, the dissolution profile matched the high-dose formulation, indicating that size and surface area influence dissolution. The intermediate-dose formulations (50 mg and 80 mg) showed minor differences, suggesting comparative dissolution can establish pharmaceutical equivalence. Thus, while intermediate doses may rely on dissolution testing, the 20 mg formulation requires a bioequivalence study. This approach secures a full dosage lineup for patient-tailored therapy and supports detailed dose adjustment in clinical practice.