Concept Life Sciences Wins SCI-RSC National Retrosynthesis Competition

We are delighted to announce that our team of chemists has won the SCI–RSC National Retrosynthesis Competition, after reaching the final for the seventh time in the past ten years.

The prestigious competition brought together ten finalist teams who demonstrated their expertise in synthetic organic chemistry by proposing and presenting a novel synthetic route to a complex small molecule. The event was judged by some of the UK’s leading synthetic chemists from across academia and industry.

This year’s winning team, Yannic Werling, Ryan Inwood, Eric Harris, Robert Starley, Jerico Piper and Robin May, impressed the judges with their efficient route which avoided unproductive protecting group manipulations. The key step was the use of an azanorbornene Petasis reaction to install a chiral amine which directed a subsequent dihydroxylation setting three contiguous stereogenic centres.

On behalf of the team, Ryan Inwood had this to say:

“Over the last few years attending the final, we’ve got to know some of our rivals from across the UK – we know how good they are. To win the competition is a superb achievement for all involved!”

Reaching the final so consistently, and now securing the win, reflects Concept Life Sciences’ commitment to continuous improvement and our scientific teams unwavering enthusiasm, perseverance and excellence in synthetic organic chemistry.We congratulate the team on this fantastic achievement.