Lonza: 20 years of biotransformations

Biotransformations are an important tool in organic synthesis, especially for the production of chiral molecules, and where chemical reactions are not possible or inefficient. Lonza is a major custom manufacturer of intermediates for the life science industries, and uses biocatalysis in many of its processes. A synthetic route may have one or more biotransformation steps. This article gives a number of examples of syntheses that involve biotransformations for the production of both achiral and chiral intermediates, at development and production scales. For each example the reasons and advantages of using a biotransformation are given.