Chemocatalysis and biocatalysis (biotransformation): Some thoughts of a chemist and of a biotechnologist

Biotransformation processes are far more diverse than therapeutic protein production processes. Thousands of different strains and enzymes are required to exploit the selective biotransformation potential for the conversion of a myriad of different substrates into the desired products, especially new optically active APIs. Timeline compressions in the development cycle of pharmaceuticals, in combination with a missing broad strain and enzyme choice, result in the fact that biotransformation typically represents the second generation process choice in the manufacturing of a small molecule pharmaceutical. As the enzyme is the first and foremost functional element in biotransformation for small molecules, novel biocatalysts, especially oxidoreductases and lyases, are needed. As targets in the pharma industry are so variable and complex, unusual nontechnical solutions should also be considered, for example, strain alliances between companies.