Winner: 2021 Rising Star in Industry Award
Dr Stephen Dalby
Merck & Co.
For process innovation in novel drug development, transforming manufacturing route designs with improved sustainability.
Process chemistry involves developing chemical syntheses (processes) which can be run safely and reliably at a manufacturing scale to deliver active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), meeting regulatory specifications in sufficient quantity to ensure clinical supply for the patient population. As process chemists, we have a responsibility to design processes that are environmentally conscious, minimise raw material consumption, waste generation and the use of hazardous or toxic chemicals. In so doing, the sustainability of manufacturing is assured and costs are driven down which may be relayed to the patient, broadening the accessibility and societal impact of new medicines. Finding simple, green and sustainable solutions to synthetic chemistry problems is challenging, however, and often requires pushing the boundaries of the science through the invention of new methods. For example, for the anticancer agent Belzutifan, we discovered a way to carry out a reaction using simply visible light, which avoided the use of hazardous chemical reactants and chlorinated solvent. This solution represents the first example of such a photochemical reaction at MSD, and required innovative reaction engineering and equipment build to enable commercial production. This now paves the way for future processes to exploit light as a renewable means of carrying out chemical reactions, further advancing our green and sustainable process capabilities.
Biography
Dr Stephen Dalby is currently Principal Scientist in the Process Research group at Merck & Co, Rahway NJ, USA, responsible for the development of innovative synthetic processes for sustainable drug substance manufacturing. He joined Merck & Co in 2013 with a background in natural product synthesis: a PhD with Professor Ian Paterson at the University of Cambridge which led to the total synthesis of the marine macrolide spirastrellolide A; postdoctoral studies with K C Nicolaou at Scripps Institute USA and ICES Singapore, culminating in the total synthesis of the alkaloid natural product haplophytine; and, on returning to Cambridge, a three-year tenure as Clare College Research Fellow.
Biocatalysis is a truly aspirational means for sustainable manufacturing …
Dr Stephen Dalby
Q&A
How did you first become interested in chemistry?
I helped my sister study for her A-levels!
Who or what has inspired you?
The incredible complexity and intricacy of natural product molecules and the fascinating ways in which chemists across the eras have endeavoured to synthesise them and the incredible discoveries made along the way!
Can you tell us about a scientific development on the horizon that you are excited about?
Biocatalysis is a truly aspirational means for sustainable manufacturing – harnessing the power of evolution to make new enzymes to carry out reactions with perfect selectivity, in aqueous solvents without hazardous chemicals.
What has been a highlight for you (either personally or in your career)?
The opportunity to work in labs around the world with a hugely international make-up, which has been truly enriching both scientifically and personally!