Saltigo Unveils Custom Synthesis Services For APIs

Saltigo, a wholly owned subsidiary of the LANXESS specialty chemicals group, has presented its comprehensive range of services connected with the synthesis of active pharmaceutical ingredients at the recently held CPhI 2009, the pharmaceutical ingredients event, in Madrid, Spain. Key aspects included the informed choice of synthesis routes and methods of process development and optimization. This expertise not only enables the traditional aspects such as yield, product quality and reaction times to be optimized, but also minimizes waste and energy consumption, for which reactions have to be selected that are attractive not only economically but also ecologically.

Reportedly, Saltigo used a solvent-free synthesis of a carboxylic acid chloride, for a precursor for a pharma compound. It has claimed that the output from a batch produced with this process is virtually 100%, because for every 100 metric tons of product, less than 500 kilograms of solid or liquid waste that require disposal are left over – just 0.5%. This process was used by Saltigo, wherever possible, as the standard process for the production of chlorinations of other aromatic carboxylic acids.

Saltigo has said that unlike the traditional variant with oxalyl chloride/dimethyl sulfoxide, which produces a waste gas mixture of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and dimethyl sulfide, an alternative reagent mixture was chosen that forms only a single volatile waste gas product. Apart from using different chemicals, it has the important advantage that the process is run in a closed system and there is no need for any concept for disposal. It ensures that, even in the immediate vicinity of the plant, there are no unpleasant odors, either for the employees or for nearby residents.

The company has added that challenging chemistries that include reactions with phosgene, fluorine compounds and organometallic reagents such as Grignard or organolithium compounds, help to manufacture products with a high yield and high level of purity and avoid the generation of waste and consequently cut production costs.

At the CPhI, Christoph Schaffrath, business manager of pharma business line, at Saltigo, presented an overview of the areas of competence and the service portfolio of the company and its German production facilities in Leverkusen and Dormagen under the title “Our expertise, your API solution”. He said that in conjunction with the capacities created for Saltigo by LANXESS, a manufacturer of chemicals and intermediates, in Redmond in the US State of Washington for pre-clinical and early clinical phases, Saltigo is well equipped to satisfy the outsourcing requirements for the entire life cycle of active ingredient research and production and to carry out projects in all development phases along with commercialization.