The field of industrial biocatalysis has witnessed remarkable advancements in recent years, opening new avenues for more sustainable and environmentally friendly syntheses of active pharmaceutical ingredients. Among the various applications of biocatalysis, the synthesis of amines holds significant importance as these motifs are prevalent in a wide variety of pharmacophores. At MSD, a rich history exists in harnessing biocatalysts for amine synthesis, dating back to the development of an evolved transaminase for the industrial manufacture of Sitagliptin.1 This talk will highlight more recent advances in the application of transaminases and other biocatalysts for amine synthesis for increasingly complex and sophisticated industrial synthetic implementation.
1. Savile et al., Science, 2010, 329, 305-309
Scott France is an Associate Principal Scientist at MSD (known as Merck & Co., Inc., in the US and Canada), Rahway, NJ, USA. Scott obtained his PhD at the University of Manchester, UK working with Professor Nicholas J. Turner. His PhD thesis focused on the development of the imine reductase enzyme platform for chiral amine synthesis as well as the application of these enzymes in biocatalytic cascades. In 2017, following his PhD studies he moved to Connecticut, USA to join Pfizer, working to enable biocatalytic synthetic processes to accelerate the delivery of Pfizer’s small molecule portfolio across medicinal and process chemistry. In 2022, he moved to join the biocatalysis team at Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA working to develop and implement biocatalysis in the commercial manufacture of Merck’s drug pipeline.
