Deuterium in the 21st Century, Use in Medicinal Chemistry and Synthetic Methods

Ninety years after its discovery, Deuterium is in the spotlights. Since the beginning of the 21^st century, a number of biotechnology companies have successfully explored its potential in drug candidates and generated intellectual property. This approach has been ‘’validated’’ by the first approval by the FDA of a deuterated drug in 2017. This renewed interest has also triggered an acceleration of the development of new methods for the synthesis of deuterated drugs.

In this webinar, we  first briefly went over the history of deuterium and its use over the years. We then explored why it has been increasingly used in medicinal chemistry and how ‘’leaving the deuterium in the drug’’ can reduce the toxicity, the metabolization of a drug and overall improve its pharmacokinetic profile. We then focused on the synthesis of deuterated compounds from the historical methods to the more recent ones and highlight the challenges that remain. Lastly, we showed how a chemical engineering approach could bring a better understanding and control of the deuteration reactions and allow for the large-scale production of complex deuterated drugs.

This webinar was presented by Dr Thomas Jennequin from Ypso-Facto

If you’d like to receive a copy of the slides presented please contact Ypso-Facto directly: [email protected]