Safe Use and Sustainability of Oral Anticancer Drugs (SUN-Zyto)

Abstract:

The increasing shift of oncology treatments to the home setting means that highly potent active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are increasingly being handled outside controlled clinical environments. In this context, blister packs represent the primary point of contact between the medicinal product and the user. Due to the potential for direct skin contact, they are therefore of particular relevance from an occupational health and safety perspective. A key objective of the project is to quantitatively assess drug residues on the surfaces of blister packs containing highly potent oral anticancer agents.

Another major focus of the project is the development of a technically feasible concept for recovering highly potent active pharmaceutical ingredients from oral anticancer medicines intended for disposal. The aim is to investigate the extent to which APIs can be recovered from unopened or partially emptied medicinal product packages without compromising the quality standards required under pharmaceutical regulations. To this end, suitable recovery and processing procedures will be developed and evaluated.

Overall, the project aims to establish robust technical and analytical foundations that will enable both a well-founded assessment of contamination risks associated with the handling of oral cytotoxic medicines and the development of sustainable strategies for API recovery.