BASF bolsters chiral chemistry with Solvias deal
Switzerland that will see the two companies combine their expertise
in the development and manufacture of chiral intermediates for the
life science industry.
Solvias is already a leading player in the development and marketing of asymmetric hydrogenation technologies used to make chiral compounds, and has one of the world's largest ligand libraries. BASF will now be able to use these ligands to manufacture optically active intermediates.
Organic compounds tend to exist in two mirror image forms or optical isomers. Whether a compound is left-handed or right-handed plays a role in many aspects of modern science, but it has a major impact in the pharmaceutical industry. Today the majority of new drugs being introduced are made in one chiral form, and this has led to an increased market for tools used in their production.
BASF sells a broad range of optically-active amines, alcohols, epoxides, acids and their derivatives under its ChiPros brand. Dr Karin Sperling, BASF director global new business development chemical intermediates, said: "The ligands provided by Solvias will allow us to act in response to more customer queries using the best technology in each individual case."
Specifically, the strategic partnership with Solvias will allow BASF to implement the asymmetric hydrogenation technology more rapidly on an industrial scale, according to Solvias CEO Hansjörg Walther.
Last year, a report published by Frost & Sullivan predicted that the market for chiral compounds destined for the drug industry alone will rise from $7.0 billion (€6bn) in 2002 to $14.9 billion in 2009. Meanwhile, F&S also predicts that global sales of single-enantiomer compounds will reach $8.57 billion by the end of 2004 and $14.94 billion by the end of 2009, an 11.4 per cent annual growth rate.
