ECULLY, FRANCE & Newburyport, Mass., USA, May 05, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pending the availability of a vaccine, which will necessarily take time, the race against the clock is underway for the identification and rapid development of an anti-viral, a molecule effective against COVID-19. Research is taking place at an unprecedented speed with more than 1,900 clinical trials listed worldwide since the start of the pandemic, 912 in the process of patient testing. The challenge is immense, the stakes are high and speed is of the essence. Facing this challenge, the Seqens teams has mobilized their world-renowned know-how and skills in the synthesis of active ingredients, intermediates and precursors, as well as high-specialty polymers.
Systematic screening of databases
How should we proceed? Methodically. All the potential candidate molecules for a treatment against COVID-19 are identified through systematic compilation of bibliographic analyses using screening of clinical databases and chemical abstracts. These molecules may be either new chemical entities or molecules already marketed for another therapeutic indication (so called repositioning). The latter path allows the drug to be made available more quickly, the toxicity having already been evaluated in humans.
From the mass of potential candidates thus identified, the researchers at Seqens are proceeding to a new selection in order to target molecules with the potential to improve and accelerate industrialization, by simplifying and reducing the synthesis stages but also by using innovative proprietary solutions. The central idea is to offer pharmaceutical companies, biotechs and the public, research regarding the most effective solutions as well as find the fastest routes to the market in the context of this severe crisis.
Seqens is ready with a hundred candidate molecules and participates on the INOVA COVID-19 platform
Seqens is already able to provide service and solutions to its customers on more than a hundred molecules.
In the first phases of R&D and to make its solutions robust, Seqens’s expert researchers are collaborating across a wide range of sectors: organic synthesis, analytical sciences, process engineering, process safety as well as thermodynamic and kinetic modeling. The collaborations are combined with original and highly efficient optimization methods.
For a rapid and broad as possible provision of its offer, Seqens participates on the INOVA COVID-19 platform, a platform for coordinating all the achievements of the global players fighting against the coronavirus.
Hydroxychloroquine and its precursors: an example of unique know-how
Besides China, France and the United States are the two most active countries in terms of COVID-19 clinical trials including testing hydroxychloroquine, which is the subject of 174 clinical trials. With a very strong R&D and industrial presence in France and the U.S., Seqens is readying for mass production the active ingredient and its main precursors for hydroxychloroquine to our customers and prospects.
This is important because it is estimated that the world requirements for hydroxychloroquine could rise between 4 to 10 times the usual demand for this product.
Seqens will play its part in helping to guarantee the security of supply of medicines essential to the health of our citizens while ensuring the highest level of quality, safety and respect for the environment.
With its 24 industrial sites and 3 R&D centers, the 3,200 employees of Seqens are proud to design, develop and produce pharmaceutical active ingredients and intermediates as well as specialty ingredients essential to guarantee the availability of essential goods or to fight the spread of the pandemic.
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