EREBAGEN AWARDED PRESTIGIOUS UKRI GRANT FOR SUSTAINABLE PHARMACEUTICAL MANUFACTURING
ErebaGen today announced that it has been awarded a prestigious grant from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to support the development of biocatalytic alternatives to traditional chemical nitration processes. The project, “Novel Biocatalysts for Sustainable Manufacture of Pharmaceuticals,” will be delivered in collaboration with CPI, Sterling Pharma Solutions, Peritus Regulatory, NPL, and expert advisors.
UKRI’s Commitment to Sustainable Innovation
UKRI is investing in cutting-edge projects that address critical challenges in sustainable manufacturing and green chemistry. This funding supports the development of biocatalytic solutions that can enhance efficiency, reduce hazardous waste, and provide scalable alternatives to traditional chemical processes. A number of other UK SMEs have received funding to support the development of biocatalytic solutions to other chemical problems.
The Problem: Aromatic Nitration and Its Environmental Impact
Small molecule pharmaceutical manufacturing is resource intensive and uses acids and solvents which are environmentally damaging and difficult to recycle. One of the major synthetic chemistry routes commonly using highly hazardous inputs is aromatic nitration. Aromatic nitration is a fundamental chemical transformation used in the production of pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and specialty chemicals. However, conventional nitration methods rely on aggressive reagents such as nitric and sulfuric acids, generating hazardous byproducts and posing significant environmental and safety challenges.
With growing regulatory pressure and industry demand for greener alternatives, there is an urgent need for sustainable, biocatalytic solutions that can perform these reactions with greater selectivity and lower environmental impact.
ErebaGen’s CSO Doug Roberts commented “We have been working on aromatic nitration for a long time. Our co-founder Prof Greg Challis discovered the first class of biocatalyst able to perform this chemistry and we have been continuing this work, aiming to demonstrate the versatility of this approach. With this funding we will get the opportunity to scale our process so we can demonstrate the power of biocatalytic nitration on an industrially relevant scale. We are excited to work with such a great team and can’t wait to generate this critical data.”
A Biocatalytic Breakthrough for Pharmaceutical Manufacturing
ErebaGen’s evolution-guided enzyme discovery platform is uniquely positioned to address this challenge. This project will focus on identifying and optimising cytochrome P450 enzymes that enable selective nitration under mild, aqueous conditions. This process eliminates the need for hazardous chemicals such as nitric acid, while improving reaction efficiency. This funding will allow ErebaGen to
- Demonstrate the broad application of their nitration panel. We will develop a high throughput assay and demonstrate the substrate tolerance against intermediates for 20 APIs.
- Scale manufacturing of the synthesis of an exemplar API to 100L fermentation and perform the side-by-side nitration to compare the efficiency, cost savings and sustainability of our biocatalytic process in comparison to the chemical process
By demonstrating the industrial viability of biocatalysis, this project will contribute to a cleaner, safer, and more sustainable pharmaceutical manufacturing landscape.
Collaboration for Impact
This project brings together a consortium of industry-leading partners, each contributing specialised expertise:
- CPI – Supporting scale-up and process development
- Sterling Pharma Solutions – Conducting comparative studies between biocatalytic and chemical nitration methods
- Peritus Regulatory – Providing regulatory guidance to ensure industrial adoption
- National Physical Laboratory (NPL) – Delivering analytical and metrology expertise
- Expert advisors – Offering strategic insight to maximise industry impact
A Step Towards a Greener Future
By leveraging biotechnology to replace energy-intensive, waste-generating chemical processes, ErebaGen’s project aligns with the pharmaceutical industry’s growing focus on sustainability, efficiency, and regulatory compliance.
For more details on this UKRI-funded initiative, visit: UKRI news
For partnership opportunities or further information, contact us through our website or [email protected]
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