US Patent 7153966 Preparation of oxycodone

A process for preparing oxycodone or an oxycodone salt, wherein the oxycodone or oxycodone salt has low levels of impurities (especially 14-hydroxycodeinone) is disclosed. The process comprises the steps of:a) preparing a mixture comprising oxycodone and a solvent and adjusting the pH of the mixture to less than 6; and subsequentlyb) exposing the mixture to hydrogenation reagents for a period of at least 1 hour.