Design of a batch plant for azithromycin manufacture

Abstract

Azithromycin is a drug that is used in the presence of a large number of bacterial infections or as a reducer of viral symptoms. Due to the exceptional situation of COVID-19, its potential to treat the symptoms of a wide range of respiratory diseases has been further investigated. This led to it being classified as a key drug in stopping the first waves of future infectious threats. Therefore, the production of azithromycin may be of interest to new manufacturers who want to take advantage of this market opportunity. The objective of this project is the development of a novel process for the large-scale industrial production of azithromycin, by studying the different industrial solutions available, based on market needs. The selection of the synthesis recipe is the starting point from which the process design is elaborated. Including the appropriate adaptations, scaling is carried out to obtain a process design according to the industrial production capacity. This project addresses the specification of the stages, operations and equipment that constitute the process is made, as well as detailing the conditions and work needs. Based on the original distribution of the tasks in the different equipment of the process, planning and optimization strategies are applied to obtain a reorganization that allows a planning of the process that achieves the established production objectives. Bearing in mind that it is a widely studied process, this stage is fundamental, if a certain economic return is to be obtained, since increases of up to four times the production capacity of the original distribution are achieved. Finally, to complete the objective of the project with the design of an industrially viable process, a selection is made of the main equipment in the commercial catalogue available, looking for the most appropriate technology according to the needs of the process, but also taking into account the economic viability of the project.