Electrochemical Synthesis of an Axitinib Intermediate – A Pharma Case Study

Title: Electrochemical Synthesis of an Axitinib Intermediate – A Pharma Case Study

Speaker:  Dr David Cantillo, SCMB

Abstract: Electro-organic synthesis is receiving increasing attention as an inherently sustainable methodology to effect redox processes. Electrochemical methods can be used to readily generate radicals and other high energy intermediates under mild conditions, substituting stoichiometric amounts of often harmful and environmentally unfriendly oxidizing or reducing agents by electrical current.

Herein, the implementation of an electrochemical synthetic step for the preparation of the anticancer drug axitinib will be presented. Details on the reaction discovery and optimization in collaboration with a pharmaceutical company, as well as the development of a custom-made reactor that enables the preparation of kilogram quantities of material will be disclosed.

Bio: Dr David Cantillo studied chemistry at the University of Extremadura, Spain. In 2011, he obtained his PhD in organic chemistry at the same university under the supervision of Prof. Jose Luis Jimenez. Then, he moved to the University of Graz as a postdoctoral researcher within the group of Prof. C. Oliver Kappe. At the end of 2015, David joined the Research Center Pharmaceutical Engineering GmbH as a Senior Scientist, where he became Scientific Area Head in 2018. The same year, he started his independent academic career at the University of Graz as an Assistant Professor. David has joined the University of Queensland in 2023.