Abstract

Process Intensification for API Synthesis: A New Window of Opportunity for Underdeveloped Countries

Rodrigo Souza, Associate Professor, Chemistry Institute , Federal University of Rio De Janeiro

Chemistry has over the decades been able to develop very complex transformations to produce multifunctional molecules. Despite these important advances, we are still using round bottom flasks and batch reactors to perform such transformations as 200 years ago. We are under a continuous-manufacturing transformation where technology will play a major role on the chemistry industry in the next years. The flow chemistry market reached $1.2 billion in 2018 and is expected to value $2.9 billions by the year of 2026, with a solid 11.3% CAGR. As the time flow synthesis can squeeze buildings for batch facilities under a portable container sized solution, the advantage using this type of production is becoming more and more evident. The inherent capacity of flow chemistry to reduce CAPEX and operational costs to a fraction, and to speed up processes and the suitability to take advantage on fully automated facilities, can lead flow chemistry towards a safer, cleaner and cheaper future than batch processing. Flow chemistry technology represents today, not only a bright future for chemical synthesis, but also represents an opportunity for underdeveloped countries to build their industrial bases and become self-sufficient regarding their needs for specialty chemicals, from basic pesticides for agriculture to complex molecules to support their basic health system, such as active pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs). During the last years our group has focused efforts on the development of chemo and enzymatic methodologies towards the synthesis of fine chemicals, intermediates and final APIs, which are important for the chemical industry in Brazil. Several examples will be shown, some of them featuring cascade chemo-enzymatic reactions, on the synthesis of levetiracetam, ethambutol, crizotinib, donepezil, among others.