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| December 19, 2006 |
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| Nagase Demonstrates Originality with Asymmetric Chemical Catalysts and Utilizes Chiral Compound Technologies | |
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The Fine Chemicals Department of Nagase & Co., Ltd. is accelerating its development utilizing its manufacturer function which is based on the inseparable functions of process development (Research & Development Center) and manufacturing (Nagase ChemteX Corp.), in addition to its traditional business model based on the trading-house functions in the pharmaceutical APIs, intermediates, formulations, diagnostic agents, and reagents businesses. In particular, Nagase is making efforts to develop production methods of chiral compounds, and is demonstrating its originality through asymmetric chemical catalysts. Currently, Nagase is putting its greatest efforts into the Unnatural Amino Acids business utilizing the phase-transfer catalyst, the "Maruoka CatalystTM," which is being jointly developed with Professor Keiji Maruoka of the Kyoto University Faculty of Science. By using this technology, it will become possible to highly selectively form, from relatively inexpensive natural amino acids, α-monosubstituted amino acids as well as α-amino acids, α-disubstituted amino acids, and β-archiral amino acids which had formerly been difficult to make. Nagase has already received business inquiries from major overseas pharmaceutical companies on various types of unnatural amino acids as the raw materials for pharmaceuticals, and shipments are increasing via process development at the Research & Development Center and manufacturing at Nagase ChemteX Corp. Since these unnatural amino acids are expected to be put into wide use such as in the building blocks for peptide- and chiral-pharmaceuticals, Nagase intends to not only engage in consigned syntheses of these unnatural amino acids for domestic pharmaceutical companies in response to the customer needs but also to expand its business as the originator of its proprietary technology by sowing the seeds of chemical compounds for creating new drugs. In terms of R&D investments, Nagase opened its "Semiconductor Applications Development Center" in the Kitakyushu Science and Research Park on November 1. The Center will promote the development of elemental technologies associated with post-processes of semiconductors based on the technology of Pac Tech-Packaging Technologies GmbH, a German producer of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, which the Company acquired in January. Additionally, Nagase plans to provide high value-added products by utilizing various technologies including its unique biological catalyst and the optical resolution methods which the company has been accumulating over the years. (From The Chemical Daily) |
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