Pharmaceutical compositions, and a method of stabilizing pharmaceutical compositions having clevidipine, or any pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, as the active ingredient is described. The method includes the slowing down or inhibiting of the oxidation pathway of clevidipine. This can be accomplished by reducing the amount the pharmaceutical composition is exposed to oxygen and/or light during the manufacturing and storing processes. According to this method, oxygen must be removed or replaced, or light must be sufficiently blocked such that light energy cannot reach the active ingredient of the composition, or is reduced to a level that the light-induced oxidation reaction converting clevidipine to H324/78 is minimized, such that the total detectable level of H324/78 in a given composition sample does not exceed about 0.2% on a weight-by-weight basis, or the ratio of clevidipine to H324/78 is equal to or greater than about 450 to 1 on a weight-to-weight basis.
