Clariant to develop microreactor technology for intermediates and APIs

A new unit operating at Clariant Pharmaceuticals' Frankfurt site is to be used to develop the emerging discipline of microreactor technology for the production of pharmaceutical intermediates and APIs.

This unit, called the Clariant Competence Center for Microreactor Technology (C³MRT), will assist Clariant Pharmaceuticals in using the unique capabilities of microreactor technology (MRT) in increasing efficiency, improving safety and reducing costs for pharmaceutical synthesis. In addition, the C³MRT will assist in the use of microreactor technology as a process development tool for syntheses that will be carried out in standard batch-type equipment.

Microreactor technology can offer significant advantages in commercial pharmaceutical applications that require rapid scale-up, those that have safety issues at traditional scales, as well as in reactions that require an uncommonly high level of temperature, concentration and dosing control or very high purity, according to Ralf Pfirmann, global director, pharmaceutical market management for Clariant Pharmaceuticals.

'At Clariant, microreactor technology is already providing commercial results in niche applications. The use of microreactors in pharmaceutical synthesis has the potential to deliver molecules at much better yields, with higher selectivities and with economics heretofore not possible,' he said. 'This technology also delivers a new view on the issue of scalability that can reduce the risks associated with the huge investments our customers make and increase speed to market.'

The unit will be based in Clariant's Frankfurt (Hoechst) location. Currently, the unit features a team of seven scientists supported by an interdivisional MRT-team. The C³MRT facilities include two pilot plants and a dedicated laboratory. The C³MRT was inaugurated in January of 2004, after the company had undergone a 3-year period of r&d with microreactor technology.

According to Christian Wille, responsible for technical advance development at C³MRT, the mission for the C³MRT is to bring access to this promising new technology to the entire Clariant organisation and to develop projects that rely on custom synthesis of a wide range of molecules.

'As a technology that is, in reality, less than two decades old, the use of microreactors for chemical synthesis offers a number of important advantages today, with a virtually unlimited promise for tomorrow,' he said. 'While MRT will not replace all of today's batch process technologies, we see its development in niches, for which we can foresee a share of 15% to 20% of tomorrow's processes.'