A new HPLC method for selexipag analysis in pharmaceutical formulation and bulk form

Selexipag is a new non-prostanoid prostacyclin receptor agonist used to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension. Selexipag is a long-acting IP receptor agonist with a shorter half-life than all other licensed drugs targeting the prostacyclin pathway, mostly administered intravenously or by subcutaneous infusion or inhalation. In this study, a new high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method was developed to analyze Selexipag in bulk and pharmaceutical formulations. The method used a column with Supelco Ascentis® Express (Sigma Aldrich, USA) model phenyl hexyl functional group (100×4.6 mm, ID, 2.7µm). Chromatographic separation was in isocratic elution mode, and the mobile phase mixture was acetonitrile containing 0.1% formic acid: water containing 0.1% formic acid (60:40, v/v) ratio. The method was linear in the concentration range of 15.7-117.6 µg/mL, and the LOD and LOQ were obtained as 2.4 and 3.1 µg/mL, respectively. Various method parameters have been tested according to the ICH Q2(R1) manual, and it is a method with high accuracy and precision. Therefore, the developed method is suitable for selexipag’s bulk and pharmaceutical formulation analysis.