A world of chemicals on show in New Orleans

Socma's Informex exhibition had chemical companies from around the world congregating in New Orleans in the US to display their latest fine chemical capabilities, products and custom manufacturing services.

Synthetic techniques, production capabilities and custom synthesis services were highlighted at this year's Informex exhibition, held once more in New Orleans, LA, US.

The 17th Informex was also the largest yet, with 435 companies represented, a 12% increase on last year. There were 75 companies exhibiting for the first time, and over a quarter of the visitors had journeyed to the show from outside the US.

An announcement was made by UCB Bioproducts at the show that it is to provide commercial quantities of bivalirudin, for The Medicine Company's thrombin-specific anticoagulant Angiomax. UCB designed a process specifically for the production of the 20 amino acid optimised natural peptide. The product is currently being used in two Phase II trials for patients with myocardial infarction and angioplasty patients experiencing heparin-induced thrombocytopoenia.

Regis Technologies has commissioned a 500gal reactor suite at its plant in Martin Grove, IL, US. The facility includes a pair of 500gal Pfaudler glass-lined reactors and a stainless steel Tolhurst centrifuge. Raw materials are loaded on the top floor of the suite, and product is isolated in a Class 100,000 area on the ground floor. It has also added a 150gal Hastelloy reactor operating at temperatures down to ;100°C.

Solutia's pharmaceutical services division has completed several steps of its integrated investment programme for the facilities of its Swiss subsidiaries CarboGen and Amcis. CarboGen's pilot plant in Neuland has had state-of-the-art solids handling capabilities installed, which allows flexible charging of solids with full containment to give control over cross-contamination and improved operator safety. A Mettler RC-1 reaction calorimeter has been added at its Aarau plant to support all three of the company's sites in collecting thermokinetic data. A cGMP pilot plant has been completed at the Marly site, with the commissioning of two 160l general-purpose glass-lined reactors. Seven general purpose reactor trains, ranging in size from 400;1,600l, are due to be commissioned by May at the Amcis site in Bubendorf.

PolyCarbon Industries has introduced a commercial technology to improve the synthesis of therapeutic peptides for both drug use and combinatorial chemistry. It is now offering Bsmoc-protected amino acids, as well as Bsmoc-oxy-succinimide and Bsmoc-chloride. The group is compatible with solid phase synthesis, and rapid continuous solution-phase synthesis. The side-products of deprotection are water-soluble, and base-sensitive side-reactions can be avoided.

Ascot and Engelhard are to manufacture and market a new tethered non-chiral catalyst for the pharmaceutical and fine chemicals industries. Claimed to be less costly to recover than standard homogeneous catalysts, the new product could lead to the creation of products that are difficult to make with conventional heterogeneous catalysis technology. The catalyst is a tethered version of the achiral cationic rhodium(I) complex of 1,1'-bis(diisopropylphosphino)ferrocene catalyst. It has high tolerance in the hydrogenation of sulphur-containing aldehydes, ketones and olefins. The agreement exploits patent rights established by

ChiroTech, Engelhard's expertise in catalyst manufacturing, and its licence for catalyst immobilisation technology from Seton Hall University.

Now in operation at Ascot's site in Mirfield, UK, is a new US$4.5m small scale manufacturing unit. It complements a US$13.5m cGMP building that was completed last November, which increased the site's cGMP capacity by over 100%. The two-story, 300m² unit has a 300l Hastelloy hydrogenator, a 200l glass vessel, two 100l glass vessels and a pressure filter drier. The unit will produce 25;40kg batches of pharmaceutical actives and intermediates using ChiroTech technology.

German company Bayer is constructing a continuous chromatographic separation unit for chiral compounds at its ZeTo central organics pilot facility in Leverkusen, Germany. The pilot unit is scheduled to be on stream in the middle of this year. Using the simulated moving bed principle, it will allow the separation of enantiomeric mixtures at the scale of several tonnes p.a. It can give products with enantiomeric excesses of over 98%. Bayer says the facility will satisfy cGMP requirements.

Located in Lewistown, PA, US, United Chemical Technologies has announced the completion of a 16,000ft2 expansion of its manufacturing facility. The expansion was made in response to a growing demand for solid phase extraction products and bulk sorbents. The expansion means the company now offers a broader range of equipment, which will give better production management and enhanced quality control capabilities.

Edinburgh, UK-based Macfarlan Smith announced significant increases in its contract manufacturing business. It has signed a US$7m contract with Pharmacia for the supply of the analgesic ketobemidone. It has also secured another extension to its supply contract with Johnson & Johnson/Shire for the production of daffodil-extract galantamine, marketed as the Alzheimer's drug Reminyl. US$7m is being invested in manufacturing plant which will add 12.5m³ reactor capacity. This is expected to be fully commissioned by October 2001.

Dow Chemical and Alchemia have entered into a research and manufacturing alliance to develop manufacturing capabilities for carbohydrate-based pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals. The venture marries Dow's large-scale synthesis capabilities with Alchemia's proprietary technology.

Build-and-operate services are now being offered by Dow's contract manufacturing business. It involves customers contracting with Dow to design, build and operate dedicated customer manufacturing facilities within or near existing Dow manufacturing sites. Dow is offering the service from 11 north American and European sites.

Atofina's latest products include customised phosphine molecules, a specialty amine for a range of reactions, and pharmaceutical-grade methanesulphonic acid. Its 'phosphide platform' is designed for making customised phosphide molecules, and it is able to offer a range of made-to-order phosphine intermediates.

Now available on a commercial scale from Atofina, ethyl diisopropylamine, EDIPA, or Huenig's base, is a highly selective non-nucleophilic specialty amine can be used in alkylation, acylation and elimination reactions.

New at CT Specialties' plant in Wilmington, NC, US is a large scale chilling capacity. The ;26°C, 200t chiller has a 2,500gal cold-storage reservoir to allow fast and efficient cooling on a large scale. The chiller is designed for highly exothermic reactions such as nitro reductions and hydrogenations. It is plumbed throughout the plant for maximum versatility.

Eastman Chemical was highlighting its latest chiral epoxybutene (EpB) derivatives at the show. These include novel α-amino acids such as cyclopropylglycine and derivatives, β-amino acids, for example cyclopropyl-β-alanine derivatives, and a variety of 3,4-dihydroxytetrahydrofuran species. The existing range of chiral epoxybutene derivatives includes the diol and 2-amino-3-butene-1-ol, and derivatives of both molecules.

Research Triangle Park, NC, US-based Magellan Laboratories announced a major expansion at its synthesis division's facility. Due for completion in the late spring of this year, the expansion will double lab space. Another GMP lab is being added to the GMP suite, and a GMP cold room will be available for syntheses involving biomolecules and other temperature-sensitive materials. A complementary enhancement of technologies is being made, including a 500MHz nmr with LC interfacing, a preparative tray lyophiliser and preparative chromatography units.

Haltermann Custom Processing has completed a US$5m investment programme at its site in Houston, TX, US. A 100 theoretical plate fractionating column and a 14,000gal high pressure batch reactor have been commissioned at HCP Plant 2, the former Specified Fuels and Chemical site acquired by parent company Ascot in March of last year. The column allows the separation of close-boiling compounds, and will expand batch and continuous production of phthalates, maleic anhydride derivatives and a range of solvent esters.

Information on the company's capabilities is available in the newly-available brochure from ChemDesign. It includes details of its fine chemical custom manufacturing services, and gives an overview of its equipment and services, specialised organic chemistries, pilot programmes, analytical capabilities and project management services.

Greater availability of optically-active oxazolidinones is the result of a new synthetic process developed by Synthon Chiragenics. It can now introduce diffferent combinations of side chains onto the oxazolidinone nucleus both easily and efficiently. The company has also just received a patent for its conversion of optically-active four carbon synthons to three carbon synthons, protected 3-amino-1,2-dihydroxypropane acetal and derivatives. The company says that significant quantities of these intermediates have been supplied to several pharmaceutical companies for use in their drug development programmes.

Large-scale multistep syntheses can be performed in the latest reactor suite at Pressure Chemical in Pittsburgh, PA, US. It is equipped with glass-lined vessels ranging in size from 50;100gal, with the capabillty for handling viscous liquids, pressure reactions involving acidic media, distillation and crystallisation.

Expanded scale-up capabilities are now offered by Johnson Matthey's catalysts and chemicals division following the opening of a pilot-scale manufacturing facility in West Deptford, NJ, US. Designed for complex multistage organometallic and organic syntheses, the facility contains 10;30gal glass-lined reactors with reflux or distillation capability, continuous temperature control from ;30 to 150°C, controllable within ±1°C, isolation and drying capabilities, and an inert atmosphere. The company has also introduced a selective oxidation process which uses precious metal catalysts to selectively oxidise alcohols. It claims this is the first process to use platinum group metals under mild conditions to convert alcohols to aldehydes or ketones, using oxygen as the oxidant. Classes of compound investigated thus far include hydroxybenzyl alcohols and alkanols.

New from 3M is perfluorobutane sulphonyl fluoride (PBSF), a multipurpose activating agent, and the company says it shows 'great promise' in replacing triflic anhydride, DAST and SF4. It claims its ready availability, low cost and stability make it useful in selective fluorinations, cross-coupling reactions, as a blocking agent and as a leaving group for unactivated systems. PBSF is said to be around a quarter of the price to use than triflic anhydride, and it does not react readily with water, making it more practical in use. It can also be used in the conversion of alcohols to fluorides, giving complete inversion of stereochemistry.

Newburyport, MA, US-based Strem Chemicals announced a tripling in the cGMP manufacturing capacity at its plant. The facility is equipped with HEPA filters and conforms to Class 10,000 cleanroom standards.

Pope adds portable filters

Pope Scientific showed its equipment and service capabilities for separation procedures at this year's exhibition. These include its latest portable nutsche-type filters for solids, which have applications in the production of a range of pharmaceutical intermediates. The filters are suitable for small-scale production, at 5;200l. They are made from pharmaceutical-grade materials, and allow solids filtering, washing, reslurrying and drying in a single vessel, thus reducing process time and both worker and environmental exposure. Final cake moisture content as low as 1% is achievable. Drying is aided by vacuum and optional heated surfaces, and reactions and particle size homogenisation are also possible. The dryers can be supplied in stainless steel, Hastelloy and other metals, with pharmaceutical grade mechanical and electropolished finishes. Coatings including Teflon are available. Custom design features include mixers, temperature control options, jacketing, valving, special porting, sight glasses, instrumentation, pumps, lifts, 360°C vessel rotation and a wide range of easily-replaceable filter media. Contact: Pope, Saukville, WI, US;
tel +1 262 268 9300;
fax +1 262 268 9400.