Aesica, the global contract manufacturing organisation (CMO), announces a partnership with the University of Nottingham for the commercial development of alternative methods in amide bond synthesis. This latest partnership is already the Aesica Innovation Board's (AIB) fourth with an academic institution in less than six months; having been established to help bridge the growing R&D gap by identifying early stage technologies for development into commercial applications.

Amide bond formation is fundamental in pharmaceutical manufacturing. A recent survey conducted by the Green Chemistry Institute Roundtable identified that amide bond formation was utilised in 84 % of a set of drug candidates. The partnership's aim is to revolutionize traditional amide formation techniques by generating alternative methods for amide bond formation, which will be more eco-friendly and chemically versatile. This innovative approach will be commercially available to Aesica customers in the next two to three months and already the company is actively seeking commercial opportunities to work with potential compounds that could benefit from this novel technology.

This collaboration builds upon recently announced plans to establish a Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Chemistry, part-funded by an investment from the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) UK Research Partnership Investment Fund.