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Specialty Amino Acids
Specialty amino acids, their derivatives, and small peptides continue to gain importance in drug development. Reliable, cost-effective commercial supply of these intermediates is crucial for a successful drug launch. We employ the most cost-effective manufacturing processes to provide high-quality, reproducible specialty amino acids on an industrial scale. We have developed expertise in both enzymatic and chemical routes to specialty amino acids.

The acylase route is a well-established, cost-effective process for producing both enantiomers of many specialty amino acids. Hydantoinase enzymes can be used to provide high yields of high-purity D-amino acids. Other enzymes, including transaminase and nitrilase, are also evaluated in select situations. Non-enzymatic (chemical) processes, including asymmetric hydrogenation, chiral auxiliary and classical resolution methods, are also employed.

Peptide Fragments
We have also developed expertise in the solution phase manufacture of small peptides, the ultimate products most often derived from amino acids. The choices of protection group, activating group, order of addition and coupling agent lead to numerous alternate potential peptide synthesis routes. Our experience in the manufacture of the protected amino acids as well as solution phase coupling allows us to quickly target the most cost effective process.

Chiral Intermediates
Synthetech specialty amino acids are taken "downstream" to manufacture many complex chiral intermediates. Multiple adjacent chiral centers, required for an increasing number of developmental drugs, can be accessed through amino acid derivative chemistry. The chemistry required for these derivatives, including hydrogenation, Grignard and hydride additions, condensations reactions and others, has been practiced on a multi-ton scale. Most of this chemistry is carried out under confidentiality protocol.

Organometallics
Organometallic reactions including organolithium, magnesium (Grignard), and zinc at 2000 gallon scale (8m3) are an area of expertise. We also manufacture siloxane oligomers via anionic polymerization.

Boronic Acids
Boronic acids are extremely useful building blocks employed as coupling units for rapid construction of linked aryl systems (Suzuki), as well as subunits in various enzyme inhibitors. Drawing on experience with organometallic chemistry, we offer considerable expertise in the manufacture of aryl, aliphatic and chiral boronic acids and esters.