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A telescoped procedure for the direct preparation of an advanced intermediate towards noroxymorphone from the naturally occurring alkaloids oripavine and thebaine is presented. The reaction procedure involves an intensified continuous-flow hydroxylation, followed by a continuous solvent switch and hydrogenation in a packed-bed hydrogenator (H-Cube). The obtained reaction mixture, containing oxymorphone as intermediate in excellent yield and purity, can be then directly converted into the desired noroxymorphone oxazolidine intermediate through palladium catalyzed N-methyl oxidation.

The functional interactions between opioid and chemokine receptors have been implicated in the pathological process of chronic pain. Mounting studies have indicated the possibility that a MOR-CXCR4 heterodimer may be involved in nociception and related ph

The present invention discloses an improved process for O-demethylation of methoxy-substituted morphinan-6-one derivatives using boron-based complex as a demethylating boron complex in an inert reaction solvent.

The invention describes the process of catalytic O-demethylation of 3-methoxy-morphinane compounds using boron tribromide. Addition of catalysts reduces the reaction time, improves reacting the substrate to give the product in very good purity and yield. The said approach can be used, for example, for the preparation of oxymorphone, naltrexone, naloxone and nalbuphine from their respective O-methyl derivatives.

Opioid analgesic tolerance remains a considerable drawback to chronic pain management. The finding that concomitant administration of delta opioid receptor (DOR) antagonists attenuates the development of tolerance to mu opioid receptor (MOR) agonists has led to interest in producing bifunctional MOR agonist/DOR antagonist ligands. Herein, we present 7-benzylideneoxymorphone (6, UMB 246) displaying MOR partial agonist/DOR antagonist activity, representing a new lead for designing bifunctional MOR/DOR ligands.

Disclosed are pharmaceutical compositions comprising oxycodone and an oxycodone-processing enzyme, wherein oxycodone is contained in the pharmaceutical composition in a storage stable, enzyme-reactive state and under conditions wherein no enzymatic activity acts on oxycodone.

Processes for preparing oxymorphone are provided. Said processes encompass a step which is a hydrogenation of an 14-hydroxymorphinone salt in the presence of trifluoroacetic acid and/or a glycol.

The present invention relates to a new process for obtaining 3,14-diacetyloxymorphone from oripavine, a process to transform the obtained 3,14-diacetyloxymorphone into a noroxymorphone and a process to transform said noroxymorphone into naloxone, naltrexone, nalbuphine, nalfurafine or nalmefene.

Strategies for the generation of noroxymorphone from 14-hydroxymorphinone are presented. Noroxymorphone is the key intermediate in the synthesis of various opioid antagonists, including naloxone, naltrexone, and nalmefene, as well as mixed agonists-antagonists such as nalbuphine. The transformation requires removal of the N-methyl group from the naturally occurring opiates and double-bond hydrogenation. The pivotal reaction step thereby is an N-methyl oxidation with colloidal palladium(0) as catalyst and pure oxygen as terminal oxidant. The reaction produces a 1,3-oxazolidine intermediate, which can be readily hydrolyzed to the corresponding secondary amine. Different reaction sequences and the use of various phenol protecting groups were explored. The most direct route consumes only H2, O2, and H2O as stoichiometric reagents and produces only H2O as a byproduct. Challenges inherent to gas/liquid reactions with oxygen as oxidant have been addressed by developing a continuous flow process.

The present invention relates to processes useful in the preparation of morphine analogs and derivatives, such as naltrexone, naloxone and nalbuphine and intermediates in the synthesis of said morphine analogs and derivatives. In a particular example, the process begins with for example oxymorphone, oxycodone, 14-hydroxycodeinone or 14- hydroxymorphinone, and includes the formation of an oxazolidine-containing intermediate using catalytic oxidation.

The invention discloses a synthesis method of oxymorphone hydrochloride. The synthesis method mainly comprises the following steps of: 1) alkalifying to obtain free alkali by taking oxycodone hydrochloride as an initial a raw material; 2) carrying out a demethylation reaction to obtain oxymorphone; 3) carrying out a hydrogenation reaction on the oxymorphone under acidic condition; and 4) salifying the hydrogenated product with hydrochloric acid to obtain the target product oxymorphone hydrochloride. The synthesis method disclosed by the invention has the advantages of available raw materials, high product purity and is easy to operate and is applicable to industrial production.

The present invention is directed to a process for the preparation oxymorphone freebase, comprising hydrogenation of 14-hydroxymorphinone in DMF, to yield oxymorphone freebase, preferably oxymorphone freebase of improved appearance, purity and / or yield. The present invention is further directed to oxymorphone freebase with improved impurity profile. The present invention is further directed to an HPLC or UPLC system/method for analysis of opioid compounds.

Improved processes for making opioid products having low impurity levels including making 14-hydroxycodeinone and 14-hydroxymorphinone from thebaine and oripavine, respectively.

Processes for preparing oxymorphone are provided. Said processes encompass a step which is a hydrogenation of an 14-hydroxymorphinone salt in the presence of trifluoroacetic acid and/or a glycol.

Recent studies demonstrated that post-herpetical and inflammatory pain can be locally managed by morphine gels, empirically chosen. Aiming to rationalize the selection of the most suitable opioid for the cutaneous delivery, we studied the in vitro penetration through human epidermis of eight opioids, evidencing the critical modifications of the morphinan core. Log P, log D, solid-state features and solubility were determined. Docking simulations were performed using supramolecular assembly made of ceramide VI. The modifications on position 3 of the morphinan core resulted the most relevant in determining both physicochemical characteristics and diffusion pattern. The 3-methoxy group weakened the cohesiveness of the crystal lattice structure and increased the permeation flux (J). Computational studies emphasized that, while permeation is essentially controlled by molecule apolarity, skin retention depends on a fine balance of polar and apolar molecular features. Moreover, ChemPLP scoring the interactions between the opioids and ceramide, correlated with both the amount retained into the epidermis (Qret) and J. The balance of the skin penetration properties and the affinity potency for μ-receptors evidenced hydromorphone as the most suitable compound for the induction of local analgesia.

The present invention provides a process for preparing an oxymorphone acid adduct, said process comprising hydrogenating an aqueous solution of 14-hydroxymorphinone and an acid to form a solution of the oxymorphone acid adduct, wherein the hydrogenation is carried out at one or more temperatures greater than 40° C. in the presence of a hydrogenation catalyst and hydrogen gas, wherein the level of 6α-oxymorphol produced is ≦3.00 area % as determined by HPLC.

The invention relates to the compounds of formula I and formula II or its pharmaceutical acceptable salts, as well as polymorphs, solvates, enantiomers, stereoisomers and hydrates thereof. The pharmaceutical compositions comprising an effective amount of compounds of formula I or formula II, and methods for treating chronic pain in a disease may be formulated for oral, buccal, rectal, topical, transdermal, transmucosal, intravenous, parenteral administration, syrup, or injection. Such compositions may be used to treatment of acute pain (such as post-operative pain), palliative care to alleviate the severe, chronic, disabling pain of terminal conditions such as cancer, and degenerative conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, non-malignant chronic pain, chemotherapy induced pain, musculoskeletal pain, sciatica, radiculopathy pain, migraine, neuropathic pain, post herpetic neuralgia, neuralgia pain, multiple sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, restless legs syndrome (RLS), cluster headache, depression, fibromyalgia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

An improved process for preparing buprenorphine and a method for increasing the yield of buprenorphine or a derivative thereof.

Compounds and compositions for use as starting materials or intermediate materials in the preparation of opioids including, e.g., oxymorphone base and/or an oxymorphone salt; processes for preparing these compounds and compositions; uses of these compounds and compositions in the preparation of APIs and pharmaceutical dosage forms; and uses of said APIs and pharmaceutical dosage forms in the treatment of medical conditions.

The invention relates to an improved method of preparing oxymorphone or a salt thereof from oripavine. In particular, the invention relates to a method of preparing oxymorphone with a content of alpha-beta- unsaturated ketones (ABUK) 10 ppm.

The invention relates to the compounds of formula (I) and formula (II) or its pharmaceutical acceptable salts, as well as polymorphs, solvates, enantiomers, stereoisomers and hydrates thereof. The pharmaceutical compositions comprising an effective amount of compounds of formula 1 or formula II, and methods for treating chronic pain in a disease may be formulated for oral, buccal, rectal, topical, transdermal, transmucosal, intravenous, parenteral administration, syrup, or injection. Such compositions may be used to treatment of acute pain (such as post-operative pain), palliative care to alleviate the severe., chronic, disabling pain of terminal conditions such as cancer, and degenerative conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, non-malignant chronic pain, chemotherapy induced pain, musculoskeletal pain, sciatica, radiculopathy pain, migraine, neuropathic pain, post herpetic neuralgia, neuralgia pain, multiple sclerosis, multiple sclerosis, restless legs syndrome (R.l,S), cluster headache, depression, fibromyalgia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (A.LS).

Opioid receptors, including the μ- and δ-opioid receptors (MOR and DOR), are important targets for the treatment of pain. Although there is mounting evidence that these receptors form heteromers, the functional role of the MOR/DOR heteromer remains unresolved. We have designed and synthesized bivalent ligands as tools to elucidate the functional role of the MOR/DOR heteromer. Our ligands (L2 and L4) are comprised of a compound with low affinity at the DOR tethered to a compound with high affinity at the MOR, with the goal of producing ligands with "tuned affinity" at MOR/DOR heteromers as compared to DOR homomers. Here, we show that both L2 and L4 demonstrate enhanced affinity at MOR/DOR heteromers as compared to DOR homomers, thereby providing unique pharmacological tools to dissect the role of the MOR/DOR heteromer in pain.

The present invention provides methods of N-demethylating, N-methylated heterocycles and N-methyl, N-oxide heterocycles using a transition metal with an oxidation state of zero, ferrocene or substituted derivatives thereof, or Cr 3+ .N-demethylated heterocycles prepared by the methods of the present invention are also provided.

The present disclosure provides improved methods for N-dealkylation of tertiary amines, including methods for N-demethylation of alkaloids and opioids, in which the dealkylation reaction is carried out in a solvent comprising a tertiary alcohol. The present disclosure also provides improved processes for preparing semi-synthetic opioids that incorporate the disclosed methods for N-dealkylation of tertiary amines.

The present invention relates to a novel process for preparing opiates or salts thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to oxidizing the starting material in a continuous flow reactor, followed by either an isolation of the intermediate, or a direct reduction reaction.

The present invention relates to a novel process for preparing opiates or salts thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to oxidizing the starting material in a continuous flow reactor, followed by either an isolation of the intermediate, or a direct reduction reaction.

Under Polonovski-type conditions, ferrocene has been found to be a convenient and efficient catalyst for the N-demethylation of a number of N-methyl alkaloids such as opiates and tropanes. By judicious choice of solvent, good yields have been obtained for dextromethorphan, codeine methyl ether, and thebaine. The current methodology is also successful for the N-demethylation of morphine, oripavine, and tropane alkaloids, producing the corresponding N-nor compounds in reasonable yields. Key pharmaceutical intermediates such oxycodone and oxymorphone are also readily N-demethylated using this approach.

(Figure Presented) A mild and simple two-step Fe(0)-mediated N-demethylation of a number of tertiary N-methyl alkaloids is described. The tertiary N-methylamine is first oxidized to the corresponding N-oxide, which is isolated as the hydrochloride salt. Subsequent treatment of the N-oxide hydrochloride with iron powder readily provides the N-demethylated amine. Representative substrates include a number of opiate and tropane alkaloids. Key intermediates in the synthesis of semisynthetic 14-hydroxy pharmaceutical opiates such as oxycodone and oxymorphone are also readily N-demethylated using this method.

The present invention relates to an improved process for preparing morphinane analogues of formula (1) wherein the substituents R1, R2, R2a, R3, R4, R5 and Y have the meanings as defined in the specifications.

Processes are described for the synthesis of 3-hydroxymorphinan derivatives by hydrolysis of side products from the O-demethylation of 3-methoxymorphinan derivatives.

Methods are provided which include converting oripavine to other opiates, including converting oripavine to 14-hydroxymorphinone and/or converting 14-hydroxymorphinone to oxymorphone. Purification and salt formation are optionally included.

An improved method for the preparation of oxymorphone from oripavine is provided. Oripavine is oxidized to form 14-hydroxymorphinone after which the oxidation reaction is quenched to prevent the formation of 1-1'-dimer side products. The 14-hydroxymorphinone is then reduced, typically by catalytic hydrogenation to form oxymorphone. The inventive method disclosed is further applicable to the production of morphinan derivatives.

Prodrugs of parent drugs and methods of making and using the same are described. The prodrugs comprise an amine-containing parent drug moiety and a prodrug moiety, such as methoxyphosphonic acid or ethoxyphosphonic acid. The prodrugs may be employed in therapy for the treatment of various indications, such as pain, and in methods of decreasing the abuse potential of abuse-prone drugs and/or delaying the onset of parent drug activity and/or prolonging parent drug activity as compared to administration of a parent drug.

Improved analgesic oxymorphone hydrochloride contains less than 10 ppm of alpha, beta unsaturated ketones and pharmaceutical preparations comprising such oxymorphone hydrochloride. The oxymorphone hydrochloride is produced by reducing a starting material oxymorphone hydrochloride using gaseous hydrogen and under specified acidity, solvent system and temperature conditions. A specific polymorph of oxymorphone hydrochloride may be obtained by hydration.

An improved opiate synthesis scheme is provided. An improvement to the oxidation of oripavine and oripavine derivatives comprises the in-situ formation of the peroxacids required to oxidize the oripavine and oripavine derivatives to form an intermediate. An improvement to the reduction of the intermediate to form oxycodone and oxycodone derivatives comprises reduction utilizing a hydrogen transfer reagent. These improvements allow the production of oxycodone and oxycodone derivatives without isolation of the intermediate, providing a one-pot synthesis method.

The present invention generally relates to processes for preparing highly pure morphinan-6-one products. The processes involve reducing the concentration of alpha, beta unsaturated ketone compounds present as impurities in morphinan 6 one products or reaction mixtures including morphinan 6 one compounds by treatment with a sulfur-containing compound.

This invention relates to S-MNTX, methods of producing S-MNTX, pharmaceutical preparations comprising S-MNTX and methods for their use.

The present invention provides a method for N-deprotecting an opioid compound, a method for N-deprotecting and O-demethylating an opioid compound, a method for O-demethylating an opioid compound, and a method for O-demethylating a nonpeptidic delta agonist compound or an opioid compound having a tertiary amide with no significant reaction at amide groups.

The invention provides processes for the conversion of normorphinone and its derivatives, which can be synthesized from morphine, to the corresponding 14-hydroxynormorphinone and its derivatives including oxycodone, oxymorphone, noroxymorphone and naltrexone. Noroxymorphone is a key intermediate for the production of important narcotic analgesics and antagonists. The invention also provides certain novel intermediates.

L-Selectride was shown to be an efficient and general O-demethylating agent for the opium alkaloids and their derivatives and also an efficient reagent for the cleavage of methyl carbamates, thus offering a convenient method for the N-demethylation of opioids. Further, it was shown that by choice of reaction conditions it is possible to achieve both N- decarbomethoxylation and O-demethylation in one pot, or only render N- decarbomethoxylation in high yield without accompanying O-demethylation.

Naloxone 2 was obtained by demethylation of N-allylnoroxycodone 1 with methane sulfonic acid/methionine. This reagent is an excellent substitute for boron tribromide. It was used for the synthesis of analogous derivatives with variable results.

The invention relates to a process for the preparation of morphinane derivatives of general formula: STR1 by demethylation of 3-methoxylated compound with a sulfonic acid selected from methanesulfonic acid and trifluoromethanesulfonic acid in the presence of a sulfide.

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