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The capsule-based synthesizer from Synple Chem generates new molecules for the development of new medicines and is as easy to use as a capsule coffee machine. This can revolutionize the way how chemical synthesis is done and enables researchers to develop potential new drugs in an easy, fast, safe, and efficient way, and ultimately reduces the time needed to discover new drugs.
With the help of the Gebert Rüf Stiftung Synple Chem can expand the applications of the technology to accelerate the market entry and disrupt the industry.

As a fundamental tool in the discovery of new medicines and materials, chemical synthesis has evolved greatly in the last decades and new technologies and reactions are discovered faster than ever before. However, the key processes in organic chemistry have not changed for decades. It can be expensive, time-consuming, unsafe, and environmentally unfriendly, and even today the discovery of new pharmaceuticals continues to rely on the synthesis of tiny amounts of test molecules using unpredictable protocols that require highly trained specialists. This results in low throughput, high costs, and safety hazards – which has driven a large portion of synthesis to overseas providers of synthetic services. However, outsourcing introduces long delays and risks in the drug discovery process, where speed and flexibility are of upmost importance.
With the goal of changing the way chemical synthesis is done, Synple Chem has developed an innovative, compact, capsule-based machine, that works in an analogous manner to a capsule coffee make and is able to perform key organic reactions at the touch of a button, and thus make it faster, safer, cheaper and more efficient. Such time-saving and productivity enhancing benefits are highly desirable in industries, such as the pharmaceutical industry, where there is ever increasing pressure to reduce costs and get new medicines to patients faster.

The biggest challenge for Synple Chem is to offer a wide enough range of chemical synthesis methods to ensure that it has broad appeal across this newly emerging market. Such novel technology is always viewed as a risk initially but the greater the number of potential applications, the lower the risk is perceived to be by the customer. Two distinct applications have been developed so far and tested with customers in pharmaceutical companies. Synple Chem was seeking the support of the Gebert Rüf Stiftung to develop at least one further application and thus reach its customers specified goal of offering 3-5 reaction classes shortly after the first market launch.
During the project we could successfully expand the range to 9 reaction classes, of which 3 where developed in the scope of the Innobooster project alone.
This broadened range has increased the attractiveness of the technology and will generate sufficient revenue to develop further applications and enable the technology to be a real industry disruptor with the potential to change the way that chemical synthesis is done in the future.

Cartridge-based Automated Synthesis – A New Tool for the Synthetic Chemist, CHIMIA article November 2020