UPPSALA, Sweden, Sept. 3, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- The licensed method from Personal Chemistry used in combination with cartridges from Fluorous Technologies for efficient purification, shortens the total process time from synthesis idea to compound-in-hand, from several hours to minutes.
The licensed patent covers new means for performing Heck, Stille and Suzuki reactions catalyzed by Palladium (except Pd/C), utilizing microwave energy. The method provides high yields and cuts previous long reaction times from several hours to a few minutes.
EVP of Business development Anders Qvarnstrom states, "Personal Chemistry has over the years dedicated vast resources to the development of microwave synthesis and in particular to synthesis method development. Our palladium patent is only the first of a long line of method patents that our customers and licence holders will benefit from. We are delighted to see the strong uptake of the methodology in the market".
Dr. Philip E. Yeske, President and CEO of Fluorous Technologies stated, "We see tremendous potential for the combination of fluorous chemistry and microwave technology. The benefits seen when using palladium catalysis along with microwave technology and fluorous reagents is astonishing and through this agreement with Personal Chemistry we can now broadly market our latest products, including fluorous ligands and palladium catalysts. The license acquisition is a necessary and natural part of our strategy to further broaden our technology portfolio."
"Personal Chemistry strives to continually develop Coherent Synthesis(TM) for more efficient chemistry development. It today comprises a wide range of products and services, including instrumentation, software, reagents and new methodologies. As a result of focused research efforts, Personal Chemistry has developed new methodologies for microwave-assisted chemistry. The first patent to be approved is US patent 6,136,157 and European Patent No. 0901 453 "Method for Organic reactions."
Personal Chemistry, a private Swedish company, is the market leader in instrumentation, knowledge products, reaction kits and accessories for microwave-assisted synthesis. Having manufactured the first purpose-built systems in 2000, Personal Chemistry has installed over 300 systems, and counts all the top pharmaceutical and biotech companies among its customers. Personal Chemistry develops and markets Coherent Synthesis(TM), a complete solution for faster, higher quality chemistry development, targeting the needs of medicinal chemistry in drug discovery. The growth rate of Coherent Synthesis is high; to date, over 500,000 microwave synthesis reactions have been run, with an estimated growth rate of 10,000 reactions per week, world wide.
The company has its headquarters in Uppsala, Sweden and subsidiaries in Boston (US), Cambridge (UK) and Konstanz (Germany). Personal Chemistry currently employs 90 people. The company was founded in 1998 and the main share holders are Health Cap, Investor Growth Capital, 3i, and SEB Foretagsinvest. For more information please visit our website at www.personalchemistry.com
Fluorous Technologies, Inc. (FTI) is a chemical technology company dedicated to the development and commercialization of fluorous products focused at the life science market. The company uses patented technology to solve synthesis and separation problems spanning the entire drug discovery and development process. FTI further leverages its enabling technology through service contracts, licenses, and collaborations. For more information please visit www.fluorous.com