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Editorial
. 2019 Sep 16;10(10):1363-1366.
doi: 10.1021/acsmedchemlett.9b00410. eCollection 2019 Oct 10.

Biocatalysis in Medicinal Chemistry: Challenges to Access and Drivers for Adoption

Nicole C Goodwin  1 , James P Morrison  1 , Douglas E Fuerst  1 , Timin Hadi  1
Affiliations
Editorial

Biocatalysis in Medicinal Chemistry: Challenges to Access and Drivers for Adoption

Nicole C Goodwin et al. ACS Med Chem Lett. .

Abstract

The use of biocatalysis in the manufacture of small molecule active pharmaceutical ingredients has seen a marked increase over the past decade. Driven by academic and industrial interest in the application of enzymes as catalysts for transforming chemical routes, the biocatalytic toolbox available to a chemist has continued to expand. Despite this, the application of biocatalysis in early discovery chemistry has trailed in comparison to its use in manufacturing routes. The authors offer their perspective on the adoption of biocatalysis in the early discovery space: highlighting challenges including enzyme supply and the biocatalysis business model, as well as recent trends that could spur more collaboration and access to enzymes for early discovery R&D activities.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Incidence of literature reports on biocatalysis between the years 1970–2018. Chart details the number of literature reports of a SciFinder search conducted in July 2019 using the search terms “biocatalysis” and “reaction”. Results were restricted to journal articles.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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