The Evolution of Pharmaceutical Solids: From Early Polymorphism to Cutting-Edge Drug Development

The pharmaceutical industry has a significant impact on society, and this influence does not need much explanation.The process of discovering, developing, and offering new drug products to patients is complex, demanding, and time-consuming.It includes many stages of research and development, using different scientific concepts.Most active pharmaceutical ingredients, especially synthetic and semi-synthetic drugs, are in solid form during preparation and use.Therefore, the solid-state properties of these substances play an important role in the performance of the final product.This review describes the development of research in this field.In the early stages, studies of solid-state properties were rare and often conducted only when a specific problem was identified.Over time, research into solid-state properties has become essential and is now an important part of drug discovery and development.To illustrate this progress, three case studies are discussed: chloramphenicol palmitate, torasemide, and azithromycin.Knowledge maps are also included to show how the research focus has changed over time.Finally, the paper provides a short overview of future trends in this field.