Biocatalytic Process Technology

A key technology for the next generation of processes will be biocatalysis (the use of one or more enzymes or cells containing one or more enzymes for the production of chemicals, pharmaceuticals and fuels). Biocataltyic processes offer the advantage of un-paralleled selectivity under mild reaction conditions. Nevertheless when using biocatalysis on non-natural reactants rates are often low and conditions frequently sub-optimal. This has led to the development of improved enzymes via recombinant DNA technology.

Biocatalysis uses isolated enzymes or whole cells under mild conditions to catalyze and perform highly selective chemical reactions. Biocatalysis significantly contributes to drug development by supplying chiral building blocks up to multi-kg amounts for immediate needs while developing scalable, robust and safe biocatalytic steps as part of the technical development of new syntheses, as well as by assisting the design of attractive synthetic routes towards new drugs. We also prepare human drug metabolites in elegant one-step reactions for Drug Safety (pre)clinical studies. In addition to applying well-established reaction types we try to implement new innovative reactions through internal research or external collaboration to support Roche’s continued efforts towards short and ”green” syntheses.

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