Last week, the Indian contract research and manufacturing services (CRAMS) firm signed a deal with Codexis, adding the US biocatalysis specialist’s enzymatic tech to its offering.
Green told Outsourcing-pharma how the partnership will work, explaining that, in some cases, Dishman will be the preferred manufacturer for customers that have already been attracted by Codexis technology.
“In other cases, the customer is looking for a product and has not identified the route or is open to alternative solutions. This is typically where Dishman would be approached and where enzymatic catalysis can add value clearly Dishman would seek to involve Codexis.”
He added that: “Both companies also operate a proactive approach to marketing and will jointly review their customer’s pipelines with a view to presenting the client with a unique proposal.”
Directed evolution, chiral purity, fewer reagents
Green set out some of the advantages enzymatic biocatalysis offers, explaining that the “technology can produce chirally pure compounds without the need for extensive isolation and purification, there can be a saving associated with raw material and solvent costs.
He also highlighted directed evolution, an iterative screening process used to identify enzymes with the optimal activity for a particular production operation, as another advantage of biocatalysis for active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) manufacture.
“In addition,” Green continued “biocatalysis can eliminate the need for hazardous reagents, can reduce the effluent treatment and disposal costs again resulting in a cost saving.
“Reactions are often carried out in far more moderate conditions, and biocatalysis can result in the telescoping of processes which both imply a reduction in the cost of manufacture.”
Under the deal, Dishman will employ enzymatic biocatalysis at all of its manufacturing operations, from its facilities India to its European Carbogen Amcis business and, according to Green, is already working on a number of projects set for commercial supply in 2011.