Lipitor , value-added

An example of the value-added chain extending from commodities through fine chemicals to a pharmaceutical specialty is shown in Table 1.1. The product chosen is Pfizer s anticholesterol drug Lipitor (atorvastatin), the world s top-selling drug with sales of 12 billion in 2004. The value-added chain extends from a Ci molecule, methanol (left side of the table) all the way to a C33 molecule, atorvastatin. The structure of compound III in Table 1.1 is as follows ... 

Table 1.1 Example for the Value-Added Chain in the Chemical Industry Lipitor (Atorvastatin)... 

The race to find the next blockbuster has never been more important in the pharmaceutical industry. The very existence of many companies may depend on the timely discovery of new chemical entities that can be developed into the next Celebrex or Lipitor . Adding to this is the need to reduce cost and increase shareholder value. Consequently, the productivity of the pharmaceutical industry has dramatically fallen short of its own expectations (1). 

The scale of production of a fine chemical can range from a few t/a up to tens of kt/a. Two of the final intermediates in the synthesis of the world s top selling drug, the anticholesterol Lipitor , or atorvastin, are only produced on a scale of 500 t/a each. The consequence of the smaller scale and more specialist nature of these industries, is that the processes are far more likely to be batch or discontinuous. Thus process units will be flexible to produce more than one product and the product s lifetime in the market may be comparatively short, either for economic or performance reasons. However, product added value is high. 

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