Active ingredients traditional chemical synthesis

While these divestitures were taking place, traditional fine chemicals manufacturers were able to enjoy new contracts for the synthesis of active ingredients from companies involved in crop protection products and pharmaceuticals. Many European companies were the beneficiaries of the new trend. In Switzerland the leader was Lonza, which became independent in 1999 when its mother company, Alu Suisse, merged with the Canadian aluminum manufacturer Alcan. Other Swiss firms—such as Siegfried AG, EMS-Dottikon, Cilag, and Orgamol, Rohner, now part of Dynamit Nobel—took advantage of these developments. Clariant entered the field on a big scale in 2000 with its acquisition of BTP. 

Enantiomericaiiy pure amines are commonly used as precursors for active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). In 2013, one in four of the top 200 selling drugs contained a chiral amine moiety [9]. In addition, chemical synthesis of these enantiomericaiiy pure amines is critical as 80% of small-molecule pharmaceutical dmgs approved by the FDA in 2006 contained chiral centers and 75% were single enantiomers [10]. Chiral amine compounds with high optical purities can be difficult to prepare by many types of traditional catalysts. 

---