Development and validation of stability-indicating assay method and identification of force degradation products of glucagon-like peptide-1 synthetic analog Exenatide using liquid chromatography coupled with Orbitrap mass spectrometer.

Exenatide is a synthetic glucagon-like peptide 1 analog, widely used in the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus. The stability of pharmaceutical products is significantly impacted by various environmental stress conditions. The present study reports the development of a validated reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) stability-indicating method for the identification of force degradation products (DPs) of synthetic glucagon-like peptide-1 analog Exenatide using UHPLC-Orbitrap fusion^TM mass spectrometer. Force degradation studies were performed by subjecting Exenatide to various stress conditions, such as hydrolytic, oxidative, photolytic and thermal to investigate the stability indicating ability of the method. Significant degradation was observed during acidic, oxidative, photolytic and thermal stress conditions. Exenatide and its major DPs identification and characterization were demonstrated by employing LC-HRMS and MS/MS method. In total, five major stress DPs were characterized, and their fragmentation pathway was proposed using MS/MS studies. Finally, the proposed RP-HPLC method was validated as per ICH guidance.