MedChem
RT member companies invest heavily in the discovery of new active pharmaceutical ingredients. Key to the success of these efforts are synthetic organic chemists who rapidly develop large libraries of synthetic analogues that are screened for potential activity against a particular disease target. There is an emphasis on the rapid identification of synthetic routes that lead to the isolation of sufficient active ingredient to perform early discovery studies. This emphasis on speed usually results in highly inefficient reaction schemes, isolations and work-ups. The Medicinal Chemistry sub-Team is organized for best practice sharing and have identified a variety of useful practices to green medicinal chemistry.
Sustainable Practices in Medicinal Chemistry: Current State and Future Directions
Bryan, Marian C.; Dillon, Barry; Hamann, Lawrence G.; Hughes, Gregory J.; Kopach, Michael E.; Peterson, Emily A.; Pourashraf, Meharnez; Raheem, Izzat; Richardson, Paul; Richter, Daniel; Sneddon, Helen. J. Med. Chem. J. Med. Chem., 2013, 56 (15), pp 6007–6021.
Sustainable Practices in Medicinal Chemistry Part 2: Green by Design
Aliagas, Ignacio; Berger, Raphaëlle; Goldberg, Kristin; Nishimura, Rachel T.; Reilly, John; Richardson, Paul; Richter, Daniel; Sherer, Edward C.; Sparling, Brian A.; Bryan, Marian C. J. Med. Chem. 2017, 60 (14), pp 5955–5968.
Team Leads
Merck
Team Members
- Jesus Alcazar, Johnson & Johnson
- Callie Bryan
- Shazia Keily, Vertex
- Isamir Martinez, ACS GCI
- Scott Plummer, Novartis
- Tony Reed
- Paul Richardson, Pfizer
- Sorin Rosca
- Jason Shields, AstraZeneca
- George Vandeveer
- Martin Walsh
- Gail Wrigley
- Mingshuo Zeng
Goal
Improve the sustainability of the pharmaceutical industry in early discovery projects.
Team Folder
Research Grants
2019 RFP for precious-metal free cross-coupling methodology for med. chem.
2018 Photochem grant with Prof. Stephenson is completed. Scott Plummer, Novartis, is the Roundtable lead. “Microfluidic reactor and late-stage functionalization of diverse scaffolds”
Team Status
Updated: October 2022
Achievements
- First Precious metal-free cross-coupling RFP meeting
- Follow up RFP (Prof. Shoemaker). Points-of-contact (primary: Callie Bryan.; secondary: Darren Poole), both using feedback from across entire team
- RFP on ring hydrogenation of advanced scaffolds. (Prof. Jack Norton) Points-of-contact (Primary: TBD.; secondary: TBD), both using feedback from across entire team
- Focused on API biodegradation WIP
Challenges
Activity Snapshot
- The team is focused on writing a manuscript ranking replacements for unsustainable solvents on reactions and work ups.
- The analysis of unsustainable solvent usage in early development by reaction class is ongoing.
- Offer greener alternatives to those reaction classes typically run on unsustainable solvents.
- Brainstorming a way to rank and prioritize solvent selection for extraction.
- Learning about API biodegradation for future efforts.
Upcoming Projects
- Manuscript submission (Q4 2022)
- FRP topic assignment through voting process in progress (Q4)
Academic Outreach
The Team has been holding outreach workshops and seminars at universities including UCSD, UMass Boston, MIT and Stanford in 2018.
