A Sustainable CDMO Partner Is The Nexus Between Green Chemistry And Commercialization

By Bertram Cezanne and Raymond Behrendt, MilliporeSigma

Advances in R&D technologies and techniques have made sustainability practices integral to process intensification, enabling greener materials, more cost-effective operations, and faster time to market. Sustainability is no longer a nice-to-have — it is now a powerful optimization tool and strategic value differentiator for drug developers.

Drug developers seeking a sustainability-focused CDMO will naturally vet the vendor’s technical capabilities, capacity, safety and regulatory history. To that end, broad technical capabilities — from R&D through commercial manufacturing — often enable efficient processes and sustainable practices. Flow chemistry is prominent among these capabilities, as many chemical processes are known to run with improved safety, higher yield, and more efficient heat transfer using flow chemistry.

Particle engineering expertise is another valuable characteristic. This capability allows a CDMO to model and test numerous particle formation strategies, precisely control process parameters, and identify opportunities to use greener materials or reduce unit operations.