DSM Pharmaceutical Products' submission for the European Outsourcing Awards entitled "Achieving substantial carbon dioxide footprint reduction for the scale up of a drug intermediate," was an award recipient at the Oct. 6 ceremony held in Paris.

DSM applied their InnoSy route scouting services to launch a collaborative research program to identify a faster route for a drug intermediate using (bio)catalytic processes with the same level of reliability and quality, yet with a reduced carbon footprint of over 50%. The new process resulted also in shorter cycle times due to fewer steps in the process.

André de Vries, Ph.D., competence manager for Homogeneous Catalysis at DSM, commented, "This project involved scientists covering all relevant areas of organic process development, including biocatalysis and homogeneous catalysis. From the 10 new identified routes, all less than five steps, the route combining a biocatalytic and a metal-catalyzed step showed to be most sustainable. In this way, DSM as the contract manufacturer is contributing to extending the life cycle of the customer's product using innovation to decrease the eco footprint."