Evonik Offers Green Tech for Sustainable Pharmaceutical Production

Evonik, a German specialty chemicals company, has announced its latest offering, which is an innovative green technology that can enable the large-scale synthesis of APIs in water. The new offering was revealed in a June 29, 2021 press release.

The “Chemistry in Water” technology works by using surfactants that form microscopic spheres in water, called micelles. These micelles then take on the role of nanoreactors, which means that organic reactions can be performed in water rather than organic solvents.

As a result of the capability to replace organic solvents, this new technology has the potential to improve the environmental footprint of drug manufacturing. To achieve this novel approach, Evonik has collaborated with Bruce Lipshutz from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

“Improving the environmental footprint for the synthesis of [APIs] is critically important for the sustainability of drug manufacturing going forward,” said Stefan Randl, head of Research, Development, and Innovation for the Health Care business line of Evonik, in the press release. “It is a great pleasure to work with technology pioneer Professor Bruce Lipshutz and bring Chemistry in Water to commercial scale.”

“After many years developing aqueous micellar chemistry, it is immensely rewarding to see industry applying and further developing its potential,” added Lipshutz, in the press release. “I am confident that working closely with Evonik, as the first adopter for [contract development and manufacturing organization] purposes, will pave the way for wider applications to industrial projects and overall, more sustainable chemistry.”

Source: Evonik