Technique to Insure Stable Supply of Flu Drug

A team of Japanese researchers has developed a new technique for producing the anti-flu drug Tamiflu (ostelamivir) that does not rely on natural ingredients, which may help ensure a more stable supply of the drug in the event of a pandemic.

Researchers at the University of Tokyo's Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences (Japan) have found a way to manufacture Tamiflu without using shikimic acid, produced from a spice called star anise. This brownish star-shaped fruit of the illicium verum tree is often used as a spice in Chinese cuisine. The new technique, called asymmetric catalysis, produces Tamiflu from a petrochemical ingredient called 1,4-cyclohexadiene instead, eliminating weather as a risk factor in Tamiflu production. Tamiflu, produced by Roche (Basel, Switzerland), is considered one of the best defenses against avian flu in humans.

If things go well, I hope we may be able to pave the way towards giving supplies to society in around two years, said Professor Masakatsu Shibasaki, a biochemist and leader of the team that developed the process, adding that he would soon submit a paper on his team's findings to the Journal of the American Chemical Society. Tokyo University has applied for an intellectual property patent in Japan and is now in discussions with Roche on a number of issues regarding further research and licensing.

Asymmetric catalysis is a chemical-reaction process invented by Professor Ryoji Noyori, now president of the Riken Institute (Saitama, Japan), a multi-site Japanese research initiative with an annual budget of U.S.$800 million. He was awarded the 2001 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his development of the process.



Related Links:
U. of Tokyo Grad. School of Pharmaceutical Sciences