Consumables

AMPAC Fine Chemicals Announces the Inauguration of the New cGMP Continuous Processing Development Facility

Tuesday 10. March 2009 - American Pacific Corporation (NASDAQ:APFC) is pleased to announce that its wholly-owned subsidiary, AMPAC Fine Chemicals LLC (AFC), located near Sacramento California, recently inaugurated a new kilogram scale cGMP Batch/Continuous Processing Development facility.

The new facility can accommodate either batch reactors (20 to 50 liters) or AFC’s continuous “zone reactor” technology using up to 7 reactors from 0.25 to 1 liter in volume.

This new facility allows AFC to expand its scale-up capabilities. It will also be very useful in the demonstration of continuous reaction performance (throughput, yield and purity) using AFC’s “zone-reactor” concept at significant scale (0.25 to 1 liter reactors). The new facility comprises two large walk-in hoods, a separate room for solid isolation using two dryers and two remote bays for handling energetic reactions.

Dr. Aslam Malik, President of AMPAC Fine Chemicals LLC, said “We are excited by the opening of this new facility. Through our history of handling energetic chemistry and highly potent compounds, AFC has developed an extensive knowledge and expertise in continuous processing. Smaller reactor volumes, smaller quantities of reactants, better yield and cleaner impurity profiles make the process safer, more reliable, and more economical than the traditional batch process. In an industry that has been traditionally batch, implementing continuous processing is not easy. However, due to the recent push by the FDA for Quality by Design and use of Process Analytical Technology, continuous processing is achieving greater acceptance in the pharmaceutical industry.”