Vietnam: Synthesis of 2.5 grams of oseltamivir

Experts from the Institute of Chemistry (Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology) have successfully synthesized oseltamivir from shikimic acid in the laboratory. This is the second breakthrough after they extracted shikimic from Vietnamese star anise more than 2 months ago.

Dr. Tran Thi Thu Thuy (left) and Dr. Doan Mai Huong, two officials who carried out the organic synthesis reactions So far, the group has synthesized 2.5g oseltamivir from shikimic. Although small, this amount of oseltamir has proved that Vietnam has the ability to synthesize oseltamivir itself. Currently, the team is continuing to synthesize this substance in larger quantities.

Dr. Nguyen Quyet Chien, the leader of the research team, said that selecting the synthesized method suitable to the condition that Vietnam is the most difficult job in the whole process.

This work was undertaken by himself. Next, oseltamivir has to be produced in more than 10 organic fusion reactions, such as the esterification reaction, the epoxide reaction .

The synthesis process needs to use many toxic chemicals, many difficult and fast operations. There are chemicals that hydrolyze as soon as moisture is encountered. Therefore, some reactions require special conditions, such as in a dry environment or -34 degrees Celsius.

Dr. Tran Thi Thu Thuy, one of the two officers who carried out the fusion reactions, said: '' I feel lucky and honored to be assigned this task. This is an opportunity for me to learn, have more experience because these are new reactions, never done before '.

The bottle contains 2.5 grams of oseltamivir In the future, experts continue to study to build a stable technological process at the laboratory scale.

The process will produce an amount of oseltamivir, provided to the Ministry of Health to retest against the H5N1 virus. Finally, the group will move towards building a stable process on an industrial scale.

According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Hung, Deputy Director, the above success of the research group marked a marked progress in the field of organic synthesis in Vietnam.

This achievement affirms the State's right investment in training cadres for many years as well as increasing the number of modern research equipment in recent times.

Reportedly, the research team, including Dr. Pham Van Cuong, has perfected the shikimic acid extraction technology on an industrial scale. Currently, the Institute of Chemistry is waiting for the direction of the Ministry of Health and competent agencies on how to use the amount of shikimic extracted in the past time.

Minh Son