Reaxa copies cars for new catalysts

Applying the benefits of the automotive industry's latest emission control technologies to pharmaceutical production is the goal of a new licensing agreement between catalyst technologies company Reaxa and Japan's Hokko Chemical Industry.

The deal will see the re-development of the new generation of palladium-containing perovskite (Pd-perovskite) catalysts, initially developed by Hokko for use in high-efficiency catalytic converters, for organic chemistry applications.

Reaxa plans to develop Pd-perovskites for use in pharmaceutical and fine chemical synthesis and to apply these new and highly active catalysts to drug process development and scale-up.

In trials carried out in collaboration with Professor Steven Ley of Cambridge University, Reaxa found Hokko's Pd-perovskites were excellent catalysts for chemical synthesis, with very low levels of residual precious metal contamination in the resulting product. Under the agreement Reaxa will gain exclusive commercialisation rights for Hokko's perovskite catalyst range for organic chemistry applications outside of Japan. The two companies will also collaborate on further product development targeted at pharmaceutical synthesis.

A perovskite catalyst test kit containing six of Hokko's new perovskites is now available from Reaxa for use by pharmaceutical researchers.