INFORMEX NEWS: Endeavour adds to novel building blocks

UK-based Endeavour Speciality Chemicals has launched additions to its range of novel building blocks and reactive intermediates, including new compounds targeted at oncology research, a focused selection for researchers studying nanomaterials and an expansion of its offering of novel thioamides.

Thioamides in particular are of great interest to researchers working in the pharmaceutical industry, as they are a well established route to forming thiazoles, a group of compounds with applications for research into many debilitating diseases, such as auto-immune disorders, cardiovascular disease and cancer.

One of the major factors behind this interest is the recent discovery that it is likely to be the presence of the thiazole ring itself that inhibits tumour growth in certain types of cancer and this revelation will further heighten the significance of this particular branch of chemistry.

With these new products, Endeavour will have added more than 100 original compounds to its catalogue in the last 12 months. Designed for the synthesis of complex molecules, the majority of Endeavour’s products are based on its core technologies of sulphur and heterocyclic chemistry. The new, non-exclusive products will be available from stock in small packs (1g - 100g) for early stage r&d or larger quantities (100g - 100kg) for projects moving through the development stage.

‘We are constantly designing and developing innovative products to meet the demands of research and discovery scientists as well as looking at new applications for existing products,’ said Endeavour sales manager Jordi Robinson. ‘The development of additional novel thioamides shows our determination to remain at the forefront of current research thinking.’

Meanwhile parent company Robinson Brothers (RBL) has invested more than £280,000 (b333,000) in an advanced calorimetry laboratory to assess the safety of process scaleability at quantities from grammes to multitonnes. The dedicated facility covers all aspects of process safety from screening and analytical method development to resource planning and product development.

‘The in-house facility will enable us to advise our customers on the full range of hazards associated with their specified chemicals, what the chemistry is capable of and what measures and controls need to be put in place to ensure process safety and efficiency,’ said RBL managing director Adrian Hanrahan.

After a tough year in 2009, business was a lot stronger last year, said Hanrahan, with 2011 looking stronger still. As a result pressure on capacity means that the company will be looking actively for further acquisitions in the coming year of a size similar to Endeavour or even RBL itself, he told Manufacturing Chemist.

The right company will be more important than its location, he stressed, and he would be keen to add high pressure capabilities or hydrogenation to the group’s portfolio of technologies. Talks are already underway with companies in the Far East with a view to potential partnership arrangements, he added.