Lab4Life Webinar Series – Webinar #7

  • Reading time 4 min

Welcome to the Lab4Life Webinar Series, where innovation meets practical application in pharmaceutical development.

Lab4Life is IMA Life’s cutting-edge Lyophilizer Process Development Laboratory, where industry experts drive innovation and support customers in product development, scale-up and qualification.

During the series, we will observe how freeze-drying methods are evolving thanks to new approaches and technological innovations. IMA Life supports the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry with a broad range of equipment and solutions designed to enhance efficiency, increase the role of automation and focus on sustainability.

Reservation is required for each single webinar session in the series.

In this seventh session, we explore the critical relationship between formulation development and physicochemical characterization in lyophilization. Understanding how formulation components behave throughout the freeze-drying process is essential for developing robust, scalable cycles and supporting product uniformity, stability and predictability.

Webinar #7
From Solution to Solid: Formulation Development and Comprehensive Characterization in Lyophilization

Abstract

Lyophilization is a key technology for stabilizing complex pharmaceutical products, with success driven by the close integration of formulation development and physicochemical characterization. This presentation traces the pathway from solution to solid, examining how excipient selection, buffer systems, and formulation composition influence behavior during freezing, primary drying, and secondary drying. Critical formulation attributes such as glass transition temperature, collapse temperature, crystallization behavior, and moisture sensitivity are discussed in the context of cycle design. The presentation also highlights the use of thermal, structural, and moisture-analysis tools to define critical quality attributes and support robust, scalable processes. Practical examples demonstrate how formulation-informed characterization enables improved efficiency, stability, and predictability across development and scale-up.

  1. Date

    Tuesday, September 29, 2026

  2. Time

    04:00 PM (CET time) | 10:00 AM (EST time)| 07:00 AM (PST time)

  1. Duration of the presentation

    30 minutes

  2. Final Q&A

    15 minutes

Why attend this webinar?

  • Improve your understanding of the critical link between formulation design and lyophilization success.
  • Learn how formulation choices can affect product behavior throughout freezing, primary drying and secondary drying.
  • Explore how key formulation attributes can inform cycle design decisions.
  • Understand which characterization tools can help define critical quality attributes and strengthen process robustness.
  • Gain practical knowledge to support greater efficiency, stability and predictability from development through scale-up.
Speaker

Justin Griffiths, PhD Research Scientist at IMA Life North America

Justin earned his B.S. in Chemistry from Niagara University and his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University at Buffalo, where he specialized in organic chemistry and analytical method development. At IMA Life North America’s Lab4Life development group, he focuses on pharmaceutical lyophilization across the full development lifecycle, from pre- and post-lyo characterization and cycle development to process optimization, scale-up, and tech transfer into GMP environments. His work also spans formulation development, heat and mass transfer characterization, and controlled nucleation technologies. Underpinning this, he applies Quality by Design (QbD) principles alongside PAT, modeling, and digital tools to improve process robustness. He is particularly interested in emerging alternatives to traditional batch freeze-drying, such as spray-freeze-drying and other continuous drying processes.

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