Boron Molecular, DMTC, CSIRO demonstrate flow chemistry production of pharmaceuticals
A partnership with its origins in the Covid-19 lockdowns and supply chain disruptions of 2020 has reported progress, successfully demonstrating at pilot scale a continuous flow chemistry-based platform for producing pharmaceuticals.
According to a statement from DMTC on Thursday, the work so far had successfully demonstrated the scalability of the platform, which is based on a chemical processing approach developed at the CSIRO, which is supporting the project. Other participants are Boron Molecular and DMTC.
Flow chemistry is described as using continuous chemical reactions in a pipe or tube, rather than in a tank, and offering sustainability, purity, and space-saving advantages.
Dr Felicia Pradera, Head of the Health Security Systems Australia (HSSA) division at DMTC, said that two stages of the project had developed a synthesis method and then scaled this up to a pilot plant. It can currently synthesise 2 to 5 kilograms of an unnamed pharmaceutical ingredient (see video below.)
“In developing sovereign manufacturing capability, speed of response is critical but it’s far from the only measure.
“The team has worked diligently to ensure that technical rigour, quality control and cost-effectiveness have been front-of-mind considerations at every step.
“Beyond the advances in technology, the down-stream benefits of DMTC’s collaborative model are also seen in the upskilling of the Australian workforce and the support provided to brilliant young researchers.”
The project was announced in 2021 as having the potential to see “many, if not most” of the drugs on the World Health Organization’s essential medicines list produced locally, rapidly and at scale.
Boron Molecular CEO Dr Oliver Hutt added that work so far work had yielded, among other things, a “comprehensive blueprint for stakeholders to assess the feasibility of this technology
“We’re continuing to work with DMTC and have identified some really compelling niche areas this technology could be applied, to benefit Australia.”
Picture: supplied
Further reading
New project could reshore essential medicine production, say participants
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