A significant finding with an impact that may still be years away
By: Lauren Otis
A team of Princeton University chemists has published its research on a new method of synthesizing organic molecules which holds the possibility for improvement in the drug development process by the pharmaceutical industry, although such improvements may not come for many years.
The team’s research involves a technique for building large quantities of a drug molecule with a catalyst based on organic molecules rather than toxic metals. The technique facilitates the production of beneficial versions of a drug molecule.
Drug molecules are often synthesized in two versions, or enantiomers, considered mirror images of one another. Certain enantiomers can affect the body in unforeseen and negative ways, according to the researchers. They cited the drug thalidomide, which in the 1960s was developed to help women overcome morning sickness, but an enantiomer of which caused birth defects.
The team was lead by Princeton’s A. Barton Hepburn Chair of Chemistry David MacMillan, and included Teresa Beeson, Anthony Mastacchio, Jun-Bae Hong, and Kate Ashton. The Princeton University team’s paper was published in the March 29 issue of the journal Science.
Dr. Ulrich Grau, founder, president and chief executive officer of Lux Biosciences Inc. in Jersey City, said it was too early to tell, but if the research did improve the technique, and reduce the toxicity of the catalysts used in the process, it would be a step forward for the pharmaceutical industry.
The Federal Drug Administration has directed companies to develop single enantiomers of drugs, isolating them from their mirror images, when possible, Dr. Grau said. Some companies have been concentrating on this going back almost 20 years, he said. "I would not describe it as something that is brand new. It follows in the footsteps of what some companies already do," Dr. Grau said.
Brian Gill, a corporate communications representative with Celgene Corp. based in Summit, said of the development of single enantiomers: "This is a technique that we have applied for a long time." He cited Focalin, a Celgene therapy for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, as one where such a technique had been used.
Mr. Gill said the Massachusetts-based company Sepracor has based its entire business around the principle of chiral chemistry, or the science of separating enantiomers.
Dr. Grau said that if the Princeton team’s research required a new set of patents and entering the full drug development regulatory approval process, it would be many years before its techniques could be put into practice. According to Mr. Gill, it takes approximately 15 years and $800 million "from discovery to bedside," of any new therapy.
Debbie Hart, president of the Biotechnology Council of New Jersey in Hamilton, said the announcement of the new technique holds the potential to benefit patients by having a significant impact on the research and development process, and reinforces Princeton University’s and New Jersey’s position at the forefront of research in the life sciences.

