Taking India to the World

One of the Biotech customers awarded PIHS a project requesting process development and the delivery of GMP grade API for clinical studies.  The technical package provided by the customer consisted of 21 linear step chemical synthesis with several steps requiring column chromatography purifications and unsafe reagents. The starting materials utilized in the provided synthetic route were not available commercially and had to be sourced from vendors on special orders. Our technical team did a thorough evaluation of this synthetic route, literature search and proposed a new and shorter synthesis to achieve speed. To avoid any loss of time, the PIHS PRD team initiated the feasibility of the new proposed route in parallel while working on the synthesis provided by the customer.  This strategy to explore the new route in parallel ensuring no loss of time, in case the new route was not successful, was highly appreciated by the customer.

A seamless collaboration between PIHS and the customer, and innovative mindset of PIHS PRD scientists led to the development of a new and shorter route involving only 13 convergent steps. Moreover, the starting materials for this newly developed  route were cheaper and were commercially available from multiple vendors. The team also eliminated all the column chromatography purifications in the process.

Thus, the new synthesis developed by PIHS  scientists was safer, shorter, convergent, high yielding and chromatography-free.  Reduction in the number of steps from 21 to 13 also speeded-up the project by reducing the manufacturing time as well as the cost. The waste generated in the new synthesis was also reduced significantly making it much greener compared to the original route.

Our team received high praises from the customer which was exhibited by extending the collaboration with PIHS to 3 more new projects which are in the lab development stage.

Another project from a Biotech customer involved the delivery of a key starting material.  The technical package provided by the customer utilized a key step involving a Grignard  reaction with chiral sulfinimine. This key step was rather very low yielding due to poor diastereoselectivity affording the product with 55%:45% diastereomeric ratio (55% being the desired isomer). Additionally, the separation of two diastereomers was achieved using a column chromatography. Due to poor diastereoselectivity and the column chromatography, yields were low and the cost was high. Therefore, this process was not considered suitable for the large-scale production.

PIHS process development group’s creativity led to the development of an economical process which eliminated the above two issues. Changes in solvents, dilution factor and the temperature of the reaction significantly enhanced the distereoselectivity to 80 % of the desired isomer. This high diastereoselectivity helped eliminate the column chromatography purification by a straightforward crystallization process. Additionally, changing a water miscible solvent to a non-miscible solvent made the solvent recovery feasible.

In summary, the resulting process developed by the PIHS team was high yielding, greener and chromatography-free which reduced the overall cost significantly. This process scaled-up smoothly and is now being used to produce the product on the commercial scale in >100 kg Kg batch sizes.

Launched in 2022, Brofreya quickly became a game-changer for pest control in horticultural crops like Cabbage, Chilli, Brinjal, and Okra. With a unique mode of action designed specifically for complex pests such as Thrips and Jassids, it provided several key benefits for farmers:


• 30-minute rain fastness, ensuring effectiveness even in unpredictable weather.
• One-day pre-harvest interval, allowing farmers to apply it right before harvest for better market readiness.

Farmers, particularly in regions like Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh, experienced immediate results, seeing increased productivity, improved fruit quality, and extended pest control windows. With Brofreya, farmers found a single solution to tackle multiple pest issues, driving both higher yields and increased profitability.

Launched in 2023, Eketsu revolutionized weed management for rice cultivation as the first 3-way herbicide mixture. This advanced product offered unmatched control over key weeds while ensuring crop safety, making it a top choice for rice growers across India.

Beyond its weed control, Eketsu supports the adoption of Direct Seeded Rice (DSR), a more sustainable and resource-efficient method of rice cultivation. DSR offers several benefits:

• Water savings: 20-25% less water usage.
• Labor savings: Reduces labor by 25-30 workers per hectare.
• Cost reduction: Minimizes costs associated with nursery preparation and transplanting.
• Energy and fuel savings: Saves 35-40 liters of diesel per hectare.
• Soil health preservation: Prevents soil puddling and maintains soil structure.
• Timely sowing and early maturity: DSR crops mature 7-10 days sooner, enabling timely sowing of rabi crops.
• Eketsu plays a crucial role in making DSR more accessible to farmers, improving productivity, and supporting sustainable farming practices.