BASF intermediates for the pharmaceutical industry

At CPhI Worldwide, which takes place in Milan from October 2 through 4, 2007, the BASF Intermediates division is presenting its globally unrivaled portfolio of chemical intermediates, which are
used, inter alia, as starting materials for innovative pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. The operating division is responding to the exceptionally high demands of the pharmaceutical industry
by offering comprehensive packages that will combine individually selected products, services and newly developed solutions.

A global interdivisional team of experts with offices in Europe, Asia and NAFTA has recently started to cater to the special needs of pharmaceutical customers. “Our new pharma team is present
around the globe, just like our customers, so that we can support them individually and intensively,” said the team’s manager Dr. Martin Merger, adding: “We understand the high demands that
this industry makes on us, and we apply that knowledge in our practical work. We attach paramount importance to meeting specific needs with regard to quality management, lead times and product
innovations.”

The pharma team experts represent expertise in biochemistry, chemistry and sales. They collaborate closely with their New Business Development colleagues. “We aim to be the first source the
pharmaceutical industry contacts for intermediates and a reliable long-term partner to our customers,” Merger said.

Products of consistently high quality
The Intermediates division of BASF works according to demanding standards throughout the world. The ISO 9001:2000 registered quality system
ensures the consistent and universally high quality of all intermediates, from large-scale products down to customized specialties. In the pharmaceuticals business this means, for example, that
suitable product grades are defined and produced reliably. Chiral amines can even be made in accordance with cGMP (current Good Manufacturing Practices).

Highlights from the 2007 product portfolio
THF – customized solutions of high quality

Tetrahydrofuran (THF) from BASF is the solvent of choice for many water-sensitive reactions in the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients: Grignard reactions, for example. With fifty
years of THF production expertise, BASF is one of the world’s leading suppliers for this product, too. Continuous improvements in the production process have ensured that THF supplied by BASF
is of consistently high quality. In addition to this, the company can meet special customer requirements such as specific product grades. Additionally, the company offers client specific
logistic solutions.

ChiPros© – enantiomerically pure intermediates for pharma¬ceutical synthesis

BASF has one of the world’s most extensive ranges of optically active intermediates, marketed under the brand name ChiPros©. They include optically active amines, alcohols, acids and
epoxides that are manufactured using enzymatic processes, among others, giving high purity grades.

A major synthesis building block for making optically active pharmaceutical ingredients is 1-phenylethylamine (PEA), which can be split into its optical antipodes by means of an
enzyme-catalyzed process. Scaling up this biocatalytic process to the industrial scale guarantees products of the highest optical and chemical purity. At the customer’s request, ChiPros©
are manufactured from lab to ton scale. Production-scale manufacturing of optically active amines can even be arranged to comply with cGMP.

Huenig’s base – an exceptionally pure proton scavenger

The synthesis of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) frequently employs Huenig’s base (N,N-diisopropylethylamine, DIPEA) as a proton scavenger. The highly selective Huenig’s base differs
from reagents like di- or triethylamine by causing less side reactions. This boosts overall productive efficiency.

With its newly developed technology for producing Huenig’s base, BASF guarantees 99.5 percent purity as a minimum and has simultaneously reduced the environmental impact: the use of
environmentally compatible, highly selective raw materials like diisopropylamine and acetaldehyde generates less waste.

At its integrated Ludwigshafen Verbund site, BASF has the capacity to produce several hundred tons each year. Customized packaging and logistics solutions form part of the service offer.

FTHP – efficient production process ensures availability

4-Formyltetrahydropyran (FTHP) is a heterocyclic aldehyde that is suitable as a building block in pharmaceutical synthesis, but chemically accessible with difficulty only. Having developed a
process for making this raw material more readily accessible, BASF can now produce it commercially. Here BASF benefits from its expertise in making functionalized heterocycles. BASF has several
hundred kilos of FTHP in stock at all times. The acid corresponding to FTHP and the corresponding ester are also available as stock products.

Carbonyl chloride derivatives – highlights for protective groups and synthesis building blocks

For pharmaceutical synthesis BASF offers a broad range of acid chlorides, chloroformates, alkyl chlorides, carbamoyl chlorides and ureas of consistently high quality. For this product group,
BASF’s comprehensive Responsible Care policy is of great consequence: it covers special packaging (drum and bulk) as well as essential monitoring of the transportation chain for these
chemicals. It also offers technical advice to its customers on how such products can be handled safely. The production safety management, successfully tried and tested for decades, additionally
allows the company to achieve excellent dependability of deliveries. One of BASF’s great strengths is its capability of delivering this product class in large volumes (several hundred tons). A
broad range of stock products is available at short notice, even on ton scale. Products made to order for the customer require, as a rule, no more than a few weeks of lead time.