Public Funding for Apex Molecular Limited

Chiral amines are important building blocks used in 40% pharmaceutical products, 20% of crop protection compounds and are high value chemical intermediates. Current synthetic methods use wasteful resolution processes. This project will improve manufacturing efficiency by developing catalytic (transfer) hydrogenation methods to make specific types of chiral amines. The project aims to develop and exploit new catalysts, to develop solid supported variants of these, and use them in novel flow reactors. This allows reduced effective loadings of the metal catalysts, efficient metal recovery and switch from batch to continuous processing. The project generates new asymmetric catalysts, opens new market opportunities for flow reactors, and fulfils high demand for chiral amines required by end user companies made using more efficient processes to lower cost, reduce waste, improve quality and availability.

This industry-led project will enable new approaches to process chemistry based on advances in synthetic methods. The project investigates 'tethering' of new catalyst ligands to solid supports (such as polymer beads or porous surfaces) to prevent catalyst and reagent residues ending up in products and allow re-use and recycling. This also enables new, intensive flow manufacturing processes to be investigated. Over 3 years the project aims to take the background science through to the point of real application trials in high value manufacturing processes. The expected benefits to the chemicals, pharmaceutical and biotech sectors are: 1) compliance with regulatory metal contamination limits in drug manufacture without expensive purification processes and reducing need for plant cleaning; 2) enabling use of novel catalysts, including chemistry to avoid alkylating reagents in pharma synthesis; 3) enabling re-use of catalysts, reducing catalyst and solvent consumption, reducing use of limited specialist metal resources; 4) designing 'scaleability' and ‘recyclability’ into new catalyst systems for application in commercial processes, supporting resource and process intensification.