Our peptide development and manufacturing capabilities

Our Green Continuous Liquid Phase Peptide Synthesis (GC-LPPS) combines the advantages of the classical solution-phase synthesis with the solid-phase approach. 

How Aspen API is acting to minimize discharges of hormone-based active pharmaceutical ingredients into the environment.

Active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) are recognized as a contaminant of emerging concern for environmental and human health. Designed to be biologically active, APIs are also developed to remain stable during their passage through the body. However, due to their persistence, they can accumulate in the environment with potentially significant impacts on both the environment and non-target organisms. In total, more than 770 pharmaceuticals and their metabolites can be found in the environment. Even in low concentrations, the risks associated with pharmaceuticals in the environment (PIE) need to be determined and carefully managed, with a view to minimizing their impact on people and the environment.

A growing source of API emissions is estrogenic hormones such as oral contraceptives and hormone replacement therapies, known within the chemical industry as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). As a leading producer of estrogenic hormone APIs, Aspen API is committed to minimizing the health and environmental impact of our manufacturing activities. This white paper outlines efforts to tackle this growing health issue, including the steps we are taking in our manufacturing facilities in the Netherlands to fully eliminate our API discharges into the environment.

While in the past, much of the discussion around sustainability in the pharmaceutical industry rightly focused on efforts to minimize the environmental impact of drug production, the needle has now shifted. There are signs that companies not only understand that it represents one of the world’s biggest challenges moving forward, but also that they are starting to incorporate sustainability practices into a much broader suite of operations.

This Roundtable will feature a high-level panel discussion from industry experts, with numerous opportunities for audience interaction – polls, Q&A and break-out networking sessions. A great opportunity to deep-dive into specific topics, discuss opinions and gather insights from the wider pharma community. Good quality Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) are core to the manufacturing of effective and safe essential drugs. Only a limited number of large manufacturers of finished pharmaceutical products have their own API manufacturing capabilities, and very few have the capacity to manufacture all the required APIs in-house - meaning many rely on foreign sources. As an essential part of the pharmaceutical value chain, API producers are actively looking for solutions that can address the root causes of this issue and set a contingency plan. However, the COVID-19 outbreak has revived fears over acute drug shortages in several countries, sparking calls to repatriate the production of pharmaceutical ingredients to home soil. • Strategies, proactive and structural actions to prevent further drug shortages • The role of the growing globalization of the API pharmaceutical market and safeguard of the pharmaceutical Supply Chain in a Global Economy • Incentives and Challenges to increase local production of drugs and API • Competitiveness of the market, assessing the risk that manufacturers or traders in monopolizing parts of the API market • EU APIs supply chain: overview and consideration for the future Aired as part of the CPHI Festival of pharma

All manufacturers are obliged to control and reduce their ecological footprint. With regards to drug manufacturing, the main part of this footprint is responsibility of the API supply chain. As an API manufacturer, Aspen API is taking sustainability very seriously. In this presentation Aspen API gives insight to their sustainability program, their goals and their targets. At Aspen API we truly believe that sustainability should be managed throughout the complete supply chain from suppliers of raw materials and chemicals up to the final API. However, we think our responsibility does not stop at the final API. Many hormones, such as Estradiol, end up in the environment by secretion via the end users. Therefore, Aspen API is participating in a broad consortium led by Wageningen Food & Biobased Research in the so called MEDALE project.
In this MEDALE project, Wageningen Food and Biobased Research is going to look at the potential of natural micro-organisms to biodegrade specific compounds of high concern. Many indications have been found in literature that micro-organisms are able to degrade specific compounds. However, these activities have not yet been tested in the environment in which these compounds are present. We will test and naturally select the best performing micro-organisms for use in the bioremediation or biodegradation.
This session is co-presentation between Aspen API and Wageningen Food & Biobased Research.