StrainChem and Euroapi enter into a collaboration for liquid-phase peptide synthesis.

StrainChem, a company specializing in green organic chemistry headquartered at the Biopôle Clermont-Limagne in Saint-Beauzire, is joining forces with Euroapi, currently a major player in active pharmaceutical ingredients. Incidentally, one of Euroapi’s six production sites happens to be based in Vertolaye, also in the Puy-de-Dôme area. The aim of this partnership is to increase peptide production by using an innovative and environmentally-friendly technology.

The StrainChem team was set up in 2017. It designed SLiPPS (Sustainable Liquid Phase Peptide Synthesis), a liquid-phase peptide access method that promises to drastically reduce the use of organic solvents compared with traditional solid-phase processes (SPPS). The new process also improves overall production efficiency, with faster reactions, reduced raw material consumption and energy savings.

Drawing on its 45 years experience in peptides, Europapi has a unique state-of-the-art platform for the development and scaling-up of the new process at its Hoechst industrial site in Frankfurt, Germany. This pioneering facility is currently used for solid-phase synthesis, and it is regularly inspected by the FDA and other European and international agencies.

Equipment needed to implement SLiPPS technology is similar to that available at several Euroapi industrial sites, providing for rapid industrialization as soon as development is complete.

As partners, StrainChem and Euroapi are combining their expertise to offer a complete range of products, from proof of concept to industrial production. Their integrated approach targeting the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries aims to meet the growing demand for sustainable, high-performance solutions in peptide manufacturing. The latter are notably used in the treatment of cancer and genetic, metabolic or infectious diseases.