Solvias Has Acquired an Exclusive License for Homogeneous Catalysis Technology from Evonik

Solvias AG, Basel (Switzerland), has acquired an exclusive license from Evonik Degussa GmbH, Essen (Germany), to develop, manufacture, and market the catASium^® and cataCXium^® ligand product lines. The new license will enhance the status of Solvias as one of the most capable excellence centers for homogeneous catalysis and High Throughput Screening (HTS).

"The license agreement is a boost to our technology and product portfolio, the integration of Evoniks’ ligands adds more diversity to help solve the toughest catalysis problems," said Dr. Garrett Hoge, Product Manager Catalysis at Solvias.

catASium^® is a line of chiral ligands for asymmetric hydrogenations that consists of highly varied chiral ligands and their associated Rh complexes. The pharmaceutical, fragrance, and agrochemical industries make extensive use of asymmetric hydrogenation reactions because these reactions allow the effective synthesis of a large variety of chiral building blocks and intermediates. The technology has successfully been applied to the manufacture of small- and large-volume pharmaceuticals, as well as to the production of chiral agrochemicals in quantities of up to 20,000 tons per year. This portfolio complements the successful Solvias philosophy of using ligand diversity and High Throughput Screening (HTS) to find catalysis leads for our customers. Solvias now offers the catASium^® portfolio in addition to the well-known ligand classes Josiphos, Walphos, Mandyphos, and Taniaphos.

cataCXium^® is a line of CX-coupling ligands with proven success in solving industrial CX-coupling problems. The pharmaceutical, agrochemical, and specialty chemicals industries use CX-coupling reactions (bond formation of carbon with sulphur, nitrogen, oxygen, or other carbon atoms) because they produce very high yields and utilize relatively inexpensive starting materials such as primary and secondary amines or imines, or aryl halides and sulfonates. The addition of Evonik cataCXium^® ligands complements the Solvias portfolio’s industrial palladacycle catalysts and the CN-coupling technologies using Josiphos ligands developed by Professor John Hartwig at Yale University.

Solvias AG is a privately held company located in Basel (Switzerland). With 280 highly qualified employees it supports the research and development of new drug substances and the optimization of manufacturing processes for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies worldwide.