Accelerated Synthesis of Agrochemicals and Pharmaceuticals (ASAP): Bridging the Gap Between Research and Application

Food and healthcare are the foundations on which our current quality of life is built. The pressure on these resources will only increase as the UK population ages, the global population reaches 9 billion in 2050 and the worst effects of climate change begin to manifest. Now more than ever, new medicines and agrochemicals will be vital in combating the growing and evolving threats that face society. A major challenge to the development of new medicines and agrochemicals is the high attrition rate of the candidate molecules being investigated, which drives up the financial cost, environmental impact and time associated with bringing a new product to market. Methods that allow rapid cost- and resource efficient preparation of desirable candidate molecules are therefore extremely valuable.

This programme will deliver a suite of synthesis methods to streamline the discovery and development of the next generation of agrochemicals and pharmaceuticals. Building on our recent discovery, we will develop new ways of making valuable molecular architectures while minimising the number of chemical operations required and avoiding the use of toxic or precious elements. By working in close collaboration with leading innovators in crop protection (Syngenta) and human healthcare (AstraZeneca, Pfizer and Carbometrics), we will ensure that our methods will be of direct and immediate benefit. We will also seek to make the reagents we develop commercially available, thus further enabling the rapid and barrierless uptake of our methods.