Breakthrough photochemical flow synthesis route makes anti-malaria drug affordable Until now, the most effective drug to treat malaria,
Artemisinin, has been unaffordable for over 200 million sufferers worldwide.
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute in Potsdam, Germany have announced a new synthesis route for the drug which promises to make it affordable for all.
Using a Vapourtec R Series flow chemistry system and an in-house designed photochemical reactor, Francois Levesque and Prof Peter Seeberger demonstrated synthesis of the molecule in a new way that could open the way to production that can affordably meet world demand for Artemisinin Combination Therapies (or ACTs).
It is believed that total world demand for the drug could be met with a few hundred identical reactor setups, but work is already underway to raise the throughput from a single system still higher.
For more information, visit http://www.vapourtec.co.uk/news/artemisinin_synthesis
