Enantiopure drug

Advances in industrial chemical processes have made it economical for pharmaceutical manufacturers to take drugs that were originally marketed as a racemic mixture and market the individual enantiomers, either by specifically manufacturing the desired enantiomer or by resolving a racemic mixture.

As organic chemistry knowledge became more advanced, the discovery of enantioselectivity was used in the creation of enantiopure drugs.

Because of this specificity, vital processes such as constructing proteins, rely on stereoselectivity to ensure that out of all the potential enantiomers available, the body is utilizing the correct enantiopure compound.

In scientific papers regarding synthesis, selectivity is often listed in data tables alongside percent yield and other reaction conditions.

Separating racemic mixtures into their respective enantiomers takes extra time, money, and energy.

[8] With the improvement of chiral technology, a rich repertoire of enantioselective chromatographic methods have become available for the separation of drug enantiomers on the analytical,[9] preparative,[10] and industrial scales.

[11][12] According to the FDA, the stereoisomeric composition of a chiral drug should be known, and its effects should be well-characterized from pharmacologic, toxicologic, and clinical standpoints.

During instances when toxic findings are present beyond the natural extensions of the pharmacologic effects of the drug, toxicologic evaluation of the individual isomers in question must be completed.

[15] Patentability of different isomers has been controversial over the past ten years and there have been a number of related legal issues.

(iv) Other secondary considerations of non-obviousness such as commercial success, unexpected results, and satisfaction of long-felt needs in the art.

But, when the racemic ibuprofen enters the body, a little over half of the R-enantiomers experience chiral inversion and transform into the favored S-enantiomer.

Because of this and the more recent evidence suggesting that the R-enantiomer may actually contribute to COX-2 inhibition, as well, but at a slower rate, there is still debate on whether or not the chiral switching seen in ibuprofen is really advantageous or if it is just to give patent protections to the manufacturers.