Lonza launched its AI-enabled Route Scouting Service offering which is designed to streamline synthetic route identification for novel APIs by combining Lonza’s global chemical supply chain intelligence and in-house expertise with AI technology from Elsevier (Reaxys).
The complexity of small molecule APIs entering the development pipeline is steadily increasing, and the intricate structures of modern drug candidates are driving an increase in the number of synthetic steps required to produce them, according to Simon Wagschal, PhD, associate director, advanced chemistry technologies, small molecules R&D, Lonza.
More synthetic steps can result in longer lead times and a need to manage more raw materials. These factors increase the time and cost of developing an effective synthesis and potentially extend the time to clinical trial readiness.
The new Route Scouting Service offering combines Lonza’s process R&D expertise and supply chain databases with AI-enabled computer-aided synthesis planning technology (CSPT). With access to global chemical supply chain intel and the predictive power of AI, the new offering provides synthetic pathways that are more supply chain resilient and offer insights for optimal route design on both clinical and commercial manufacturing, continued Wagschal, who noted that the integrated service can provide intellectual property, reduce COGS, and improve supply chain security for customers.
“Robust retrosynthesis is key in creating efficient, scalable syntheses for novel drug candidates, he explained. “Today, researchers benefit from using CSPTs with analytical search and powerful predictive capabilities.
“By integrating our unique supply chain insights and predictions reflecting Lonza’s decades of experience and knowledge of clinical and commercial manufacturing, global sourcing of raw materials and intermediates, our new Route Scouting Service helps chemistry, manufacturing and control teams overcome the challenge of rising API complexity.”
