2025 Product Development, Science & Technology (PDS&T) Graduate Intern – API Process Chemistry (Late Stage)

API Process Chemistry Intern (Late Stage) Overview

Envision spending your summer working with energetic colleagues and inspirational leaders, all while gaining world-class experience in one of the most dynamic organizations in the pharmaceutical industry. This is a reality for AbbVie Interns.

Product Development, Science and Technology (PDS&T) is the intersection of technical excellence and business impact.  We are champions of product innovation and process knowledge to solve AbbVie's most complex technical challenges to successfully support late-phase products, commercialize our pipeline, ensure the quality and efficacy of our products, make a direct impact on patient health and well-being.

As an intern on the API Process Chemistry team within the PDS&T group, you will have an incredible opportunity to make a direct impact on process development optimization while gaining valuable industry experience.  The goal of this project (Sulfo-PBA synthesis via alternative sulfonylation chemistry and crystallization optimization) is to identify and optimize alternative synthetic approaches for an existing commercial process. The focus of this project is to use small scale experimental results and statistical modeling to identify the optimal stoichiometry and temperature range for the reaction. Further development work to improve the crystallization of the product will be performed to increase the yield of the process.  This will be followed by a proof of concept scale up batch to demonstrate the scalability of the process. The research findings from this work will be presented to the wider PDS&T group.       

Key responsibilities include:

• Receive mentoring and training to execute analytical methods, experimental design, and the use of statistical modeling software.
• Synthesize and isolate the starting material for the project.
• Execute a DOE to determine the optimal stoichiometry and temperature range for the reaction.
• Optimize the crystallization parameters to further improve the process yield.
• Demonstrate the process on a 10-20 g scale as proof of concept.
• Provide weekly project updates and present research findings to the department in a seminar.