Enzyme-catalyzed processes in pharmaceutical industry Original Research Article

Biocatalysis is enjoying an increasing interest not only in academia, but also in industry. It has been the topic of several excellent reviews or books [Bornscheuer and Kaszlauskas, Hydrolases in Organic Synthesis—Regio- and Stereoselective Biotransformations, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 1999; H.-J. Rehm, G. Reed, A. Pühler, P. Stadler (Eds.), Biotechnology, Biotransformations, Vol. 8, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 1998; Faber, Biotransformation, Organic Chemistry, Springer Berlin, 1996; K. Drauz, H. Waldmann, (Eds.), Enzyme Catalysis in Organic Synthesis, VCH Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Weinheim, 1995; Wong and Whitesides, Enzymes in Synthetic Organic Chemistry, Tetrahedron Organic Chemistry, Vol. 12, Pergamon, Oxford, 1994; Sheldon, Chirotechnology, Marcel Dekker, New York, 1993; Chem. Today 13 (1995) 9; Drug Discovery Today 2 (1997) 513; Bioorg. Med. Chem. 7 (1999) 2253; J. Chem. Soc., Perkin Trans. 1 (1999) 1; U.T. Bornscheuer, in: Biotechnology—Biotransformations II, Vol. 8b, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 2000 pp. 277–294.] . Aim of this article is to present recent developments of biocatalysis in the pharmaceutical industry in a more didactical manner. An outlook on future aspects of biocatalysis will reflect the authors opinion. We will discuss the fundamental strength of biocatalysis but also some commonly held pre-conceptions, which we believe are superficial.