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Finding the right chemistry

Nature Medicine volume 19, pages 1200–1203 (2013)Cite this article

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Discovering the right compound that can treat an infection such as HIV is only the first piece of the drug development puzzle. The next challenge is to make the manufacturing process more efficient—and thereby cheaper. Killugudi Jayaraman meets with the 'process chemistry' experts honing these reactions to bring down the cost of antiretrovirals.

That target may sound overly ambitious but is not necessarily wishful thinking. Laurus Labs earned the 2012 SCRIP Award, from the London-based pharmaceutical news and analysis company SCRIP Intelligence, for being the 'Best Company in an Emerging Market', in part owing to its help in making cost-effective antiretroviral therapy available to an estimated 1.5 million HIV-positive patients around the world—nearly 20% of the population receiving the treatment. Since its inception in 2006, Laurus Labs has grown to employ around 300 chemists, 170 of whom are 'process chemists', people who tinker with the nuances in chemical reactions to optimize each step in the formation of, for example, a drug compound. The company already has 74 patent applications under its belt. “We may be young, but we are as mature as big pharma,” says Raju Kalidindi, the company's 49-year-old executive director.

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References

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  1. Killugudi Jayaraman is a science writer based in Bangalore.,

    Killugudi Jayaraman

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Jayaraman, K. Finding the right chemistry. Nat Med 19, 1200–1203 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm1013-1200

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nm1013-1200

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