Process for preparing oxycodone having reduced levels of 14-hydroxycodeinone

1. A process for preparing oxycodone hydrochloride having less than 70 ppm of 14-hydroxycodeinone comprising:

(a) heating a mixture of oxycodone hydrochloride starting material having more than 100 ppm of 14-hydroxycodeinone, and between about 0.005 and about 0.05 by weight of cysteine in an alcohol/water solvent at a temperature between about 70 and about 90 ° C. for between about 3 and about 6 hours; and

(b) isolating oxycodone hydrochloride having less than 70 ppm of 14-hydroxycodeinone.

2. The process of claim 1 , wherein the alcohol is n-butanol and the oxycodone hydrochloride isolated in step (b) has less than 10 ppm of 14-hydroxycodeinone.

3. The process of claim 1 , wherein the cysteine is L-cysteine and the amount of the L-cysteine is between about 0.03 and about 0.05 by weight.

4. A process for preparing oxycodone base having less than 50 ppm of 14-hydroxycodeinone comprising:

(a) heating a mixture of oxycodone base starting material having more than 100 ppm of 14-hydroxycodeinone and between about 0.1 and about 0.5 by weight of SiCH 2 CH 2 CH 2 SH in water at a temperature of from about 20 to about 100 ° C. and at a pH of from about 1 to about 7 for at least about 1 hour; and

(b) isolating oxycodone base having less than 50 ppm of 14-hydroxycodeinone.

5. The process of claim 4 , wherein the pH of step (a) is between about 5 and about 6.

6. The process of claim 4 , wherein the temperature of step (a) is about 70 ° C.

7. The process of claim 4 , wherein the mixture of step (a) is heated from between about 1 and about 5 hours.

8. The process of claim 7 , wherein the mixture of step (a) is heated for about 3 hours.

9. The process of claim 4 , wherein the oxycodone base of step (b) is isolated by adjusting the pH of the mixture of step (a) to between about 9 and about 10 and cooling to precipitate the oxycodone base having less than 50 ppm of 14-hydroxycodeinone.