Forced degradation studies provide knowledge about possible degradation pathways and degradation products of the active ingredients and help elucidate the structure of the degradants. Degradation products generated from forced degradation studies are potential degradation products that may or may not be formed under relevant storage conditions but they assist in the developing stability indicating method. It is better to start degradation studies earlier in the drug development process to have sufficient time to gain more information about the stability of the molecule. This information will in turn help improve the formulation manufactur- ing process and determine the storage conditions. As no specific set of conditions is applicable to all drug products and drug substances and the regulatory guidance does not specify about the conditions to be used, this study requires the experimenter to use common sense. The aim of any strategy used for forced degrada- tion is to produce the desired amount of degradation i.e., 5–20%.
A properly designed and executed forced degradation study would generate an appropriate sample for development of stability indicating method.