Scientists seeking new ways to produce Roche's flu drug Tamiflu
(oseltamivir) have published two new syntheses based on cheaper
starting materials than the conventional method. Roche is
battling to meet demand for Tamiflu by increasing its external
contractors and finding new methods to produce shikimic acid, as
sales this year for the drug are expected to reach 1.1bn to
1.2bn Swiss francs (€7bn - €7.5bn). The shikimic acid used in
the manufacturing of Tamiflu is expensive and in limited supply,
since it is obtained almost exclusively from the pods of the
star anise, a fruit that is found mainly in China and whose
availability has dwindled due to high demand for the flu drug.
But two new synthetic routes published in the Journal of the
American Chemical Society avoid the use of shikimic acid and
start with cheaper building blocks. The most promising pathway
was developed by Harvard Professor Elias Corey, who won the
Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1990 for his achievements in
devising lab bench approaches to syn