The Stability-Indicating Ultra High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with Diode Array Detector and Tandem Mass Spectrometry Method Applied for the Forced Degradation Study of Ritlecitinib: An Appraisal of Green and Blue Metrics

Background/Objectives: Janus kinase inhibitors open new horizons for small-molecule drugs in treating inflammatory bowel disease, with ritlecitinib demonstrating significant efficacy in clinical trials for ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Ritlecitinib, a second-generation JAK3 inhibitor, is a...

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Main Authors: Jelena Kovačić, Daniela Amidžić Klarić, Nikša Turk, Željko Krznarić, Emma Riordan, Ana Mornar
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-01-01
Series:Pharmaceuticals
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8247/18/1/124
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Summary:Background/Objectives: Janus kinase inhibitors open new horizons for small-molecule drugs in treating inflammatory bowel disease, with ritlecitinib demonstrating significant efficacy in clinical trials for ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease. Ritlecitinib, a second-generation JAK3 inhibitor, is a novel therapeutic agent for alopecia areata and other autoimmune conditions. Methods: A new stability-indicating UHPLC-DAD-MS/MS method was developed, validated, and applied for a forced degradation study of ritlecitinib under ICH guidelines. Results: The method demonstrated high specificity, sensitivity (LOD: 0.04 µg/mL; LOQ: 0.14 µg/mL), precision (RSD ≤ 0.15%), and accuracy (99.9–100.3%). Forced degradation studies under acidic, basic, oxidative, thermal, and photolytic conditions revealed four novel degradation products. Basic degradation followed second-order kinetics, while oxidative degradation followed zero-order kinetics. Conclusions: The validated method reliably characterized ritlecitinib’s stability and degradation products, providing essential data for optimizing formulation, determining proper storage conditions, anticipating drug–excipient interactions, and ensuring quality control. The eco-friendliness and applicability of the developed forced degradation procedure were evaluated using various green and blue metric tools. Incorporating green analytical principles underscores its potential for sustainable pharmaceutical analysis.
ISSN:1424-8247