Beyond organic solvents: synthesis of a 5-HT4 receptor agonist in water

Reducing or eliminating organic solvent use in pharmaceutical manufacturing is perhaps the most effective way to reduce the environmental, health, and safety impacts of drug substance manufacturing. With this in mind, we have developed a process to manufacture an investigational 6-HT4 receptor agonist that is conducted almost entirely in water, including multiple controlled isolations. Key transformations carried out in aqueous media include a benzimidazole cyclization, amide bond formation, reductive amination, and a selective oxidation of an aliphatic alcohol. Compared to the first-generation manufacturing process using organic solvents, the aqueous process described here uses 77% less material inputs, 94% less organic solvent, and, surprisingly, 48% less water, while improving overall yield from 35% to 56%.

Automated summary

Reducing or eliminating organic solvent use in pharmaceutical manufacturing is a highly effective way to reduce environmental, health, and safety impacts. The process described utilizing primarily water-based methods significantly reduces material inputs and organic solvent use, while surprisingly using less water and improving overall yield compared to traditional methods.