Quality by Design-driven Analytical Method: A Quality Risk Management-Based Liquid Chromatography Method for Daclatasvir and Characterization of its Putative Degradants by LC-MS/MS

Background:: Antiviral drugs can cure more than 95 percent of people with hepatitis C, but the inaccessibility of quality affordable medicines and the lack of their uninterrupted supply pose a major challenge. Impurities in drugs have a significant impact on their quality and are one of the substantial causes of drug recalls, ultimately leading to the unavailability of the drug in the market. Hence, there is a need for a robust, quality risk management and quality by design-driven analytical method that can detect the antiviral drug, Daclatasvir dihydrochloride, in the presence of its probable impurities. Objective:: This study aimed to develop a Quality by Design-driven stability- indicating liquid chromatography method for Daclatasvir dihydrochloride and the characterization of its putative degradants by LC-MS. Method:: The fishbone diagram and quality risk assessment investigated twenty-four process parameters and concluded that three risk parameters, i.e., flow rate, buffer pH, and stationary phase type, were the critical process parameters. The critical quality attributes viz. resolution between impurity 6 and DCV and impurity 2 & 3 (Rs˃1.5), the shape of the peak of DCV which is decided by the Number of Theoretical Plates (NTP˃5000), and the retention time of Daclatasvir (tR14-23 mins) were optimized using a two-level three-factor full factorial design with five center points. Results:: The optimized method is stability-indicating in its true sense as it can separate the sample with its degradants generated in basic (three), acidic (two), oxidative (H2O2: three, Azobisisobutyronitrile: one), photo (three), and dry heat (one) conditions. Degradants structures were elucidated, and degradation routes were established, using LC-MS and LC-MS/MS analyses. Conclusion:: The drug is highly susceptible to acid, base hydrolysis, and oxidation degradation conditions and poses a significant risk to the analytical method to fail in system suitability criteria. Hence, a robust and flexible chromatographic method with the capacity for continuous improvement was developed and successfully validated within the criteria of design space.