News & Press
May 25, 2021
Press Release > Facile & Scalable Synthesis of Plant-Based Cholesterol (BotaniChol®) in GMP Grade
Chemists at CordenPharma and the Otto-von-Guericke-University of Magdeburg, Germany developed a scalable synthesis of pharma-grade cholesterol based on botanical sources. This offers a large-scale production of highly needed cholesterol, which is used as part of the lipid cocktail for the assembly of effective mRNA-based vaccines against the COVID-19 pandemic. These lipids are formulated into the delivery system of the mRNA fragments by forming Lipid NanoParticles (LNP) that introduce the mRNA into the cells. Cholesterol plays a crucial role because it stabilizes the LNP and facilitates endosome escape of the mRNA into the cytosol.
CordenPharma, a Contract, Development & Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) providing full-service manufacturing from APIs to Drug Products, produces a variety of these lipids on a large scale. To complete CordenPharma’s lipid offerings, especially at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chemical Project Leader Dr. Lionel Roux started investigations on a synthesis of cholesterol based on plant materials.
Then about one year ago, Dr. Adriano Indolese, Head of Global R&D & Innovation at CordenPharma, took advantage of a long-standing and established collaboration with Prof. Dr. Dieter Schinzer from the Institute of Chemistry – Faculty of Process & Systems Engineering at the Otto-Von-Guericke-University (OVGU) of Magdeburg, Germany to initiate the further exploration of possible routes to cholesterol. Dr. Adriano Indolese comments, “We have been collaborating very successfully with Prof. Schinzer’s group for many years. We highly appreciate the passion and commitment of the team to develop creative syntheses for complex organic molecules.”
By the end of 2020, the team achieved a breakthrough in the project resulting in a straightforward, short synthesis of cholesterol that has already been filed for a registered trademark to be named BotaniChol®. Prof. Schinzer states, “After very hard day & night work in the lab, and many brain storming sessions within the collaborating teams, graduate student Maxim Munt and Senior Scientist Dr. Oliver Spieß from our research group achieved the breakthrough and produced the first grams of plant-derived cholesterol.”
Prof. Schinzer states, “After very hard day & night work in the lab, and many brain storming sessions within the collaborating teams, graduate student Maxim Munt and Senior Scientist Dr. Oliver Spieß from our research group achieved the breakthrough and produced the first grams of plant-derived cholesterol.”
Currently, the main quantities of cholesterol for industrial applications are extracted from wool grease of sheep or animal tissues. These sources involve the risk of Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs) agents via human and veterinary medicinal products.
CordenPharma’s plant-based Cholesterol BotaniChol® avoids potential animal-sourced contamination and helps overcome the global shortage of lipids to aid in the production of life-saving vaccines worldwide.
The new production process of BotaniChol® with non-animal origin cholesterol avoids any potential animal source of contamination, as it is based solely on chemical transformations starting with plant materials. The patented process will play an important role in overcoming the global shortage of lipids, and finally aid in the production of more life-saving vaccines around the world to fight the pandemic.
Matthieu Giraud, PhD, Director of Global Peptides, and Lipids & Carbohydrates Platforms at CordenPharma explains, “This innovative and cost-competitive process starting from plant derivative, developed jointly with the Otto-von-Guericke-University of Magdeburg, Germany, provides a highly-pure cholesterol BotaniChol® which is required for mRNA vaccines. In addition to our standard phosphocholine, pegylated and cationic lipids, BotaniChol® nicely completes our mRNA lipid offering for global partners involved in fighting the pandemic.”
The Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg was founded in 1993. With nine faculties and almost 14,000 students in around 100 degree programmes, it forms a university center for teaching and research in Saxony-Anhalt. As a profile university with clearly defined contours, the University of Magdeburg has defined its research focus in engineering, natural sciences and medicine. In addition, it sees mathematics and economics, social sciences and humanities as indispensable disciplines for a modern university in the information society. A good 26 percent of all students come from abroad. Around 2,500 graduates leave the university every year after successfully completing their studies, around 200 of them as licensed doctors.
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Read Press Release Pdf in German
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#CordenPharmaBergamo
Celebrations included a garden party with German-themed breakfast, lunch or dinner buffets, 15 Year custom cakes and gifts distributed to all employees, along with a speech from Managing Director Luca Porcu and VP of Platform Management & Marketing Stephen Houldsworth.
#CordenPharmaSwitzerland
Celebrations included an introduction of our core values, followed by playful games to implement them, distribution of 15 year bags, food and a live band in a garden party. Employees heard from Managing Director Dr. Juerg Burger and VP of Human Resources Stefanie Gerber.
#CordenPharmaPlankstadt
Celebrations were split into 3 groups to cover all shifts and included a festive room with a 3 course buffet meal, 15 Year custom gift bags with locally-brewed beer, and a welcome speech by Site Business Development Christina Simons and CEO Dr. Michael Quirmbach.
#CordenPharmaFrankfurt
Celebrations included a garden party with food trucks, table games, a pub quiz with team prizes, instant cameras for a photo collage, and 15 Year gifts. Guests included the CPI Global Compliance Team, Allessa GmbH, Weylchem Innotec GmbH, and Walter Krebs GmbH, with speeches by Head of Operations Dr. Karsten Meyenberg and CFO Heiko Serwe.
#CordenPharmaChenôve
Celebrations included a garden party with a “Burgundy” aperitif dinner, food trucks for lunch, a fun photo booth for taking 15 Year souvenirs, and speeches by Managing Director Yves Michon and CordenPharma Chief Quality & Compliance Officer Will Cashin.
#CordenPharmaCaponago
Celebrations continued 4 times throughout the day & night to cover all shifts, and included a multi-course German lunch or dinner with brezel, speeches by Managing Director Fabrizio Fiordigiglio and VP of Sales Dr. Mimoun Ayoub, followed by a festive garden gazebo for the 15 Year gift distribution of Prosecco and backpacks.
#CordenPharmaBrussels
Celebrations included a boat ride to Brussels City Center, followed by 3 groups taking guided bike or walking tours of secret places along the canal or the Tour & Taxis building. The party finished with a BBQ dinner and speeches from Managing Director Dr. Jean-Luc Dewez and VP General Counsel Nicolas Reischer.
#CordenPharmaBoulder #CordenPharmaColorado
Celebrations included a garden party with a festive banquet of foods from Italy, Germany, France, & US, games, marshmallow roasting, custom beer steins and other 15 Year gifts, and balloons stuffed with prizes. All employees then heard a speech from Managing Director Brian McCudden and COO Dr. Lee Newton.
Brittany Hayes joined CordenPharma as Director, Global Highly Potent & Oncology Platform in October 2021, bringing over 20 years of extensive experience in the areas of contract manufacturing (Drug Substance & Drug Product), pharmaceutical and API development, business development, contract management, and organic chemistry.
Prior to joining CordenPharma, Brittany held leadership positions at various Contract Development & Manufacturing Organizations (CDMOs) including Recro, Regis Technologies, DSM/Patheon/Thermo Fisher, Formex, Ricerca, and Azopharma. Most recently, Brittany was Applied Technology Director at Recro, where she was responsible for managing the proposal evaluations and development team, providing technical support to the BD team, creating training for new service offerings, and enhancing new client onboarding & knowledge transfer by liaising with business development executives, technical operations personnel, and project managers. Brittany excels at driving technical decision-making for successful pharmaceutical product development.
Brittany earned her Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Wake Forest University (Winston-Salem, NC) and her B.S. degree in Chemistry from Emory University (Atlanta, GA). She also was an American Heart Association postdoctoral fellow at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Department of Medicinal Chemistry & Pharmacognosy. Brittany has been an active member of the American Chemical Society since 1995.