Yeast based N-demethylation for the production of

nororipavine in fed-batch or continuous cultivation

.

In a groundbreaking paper published in Bioresource Technology researchers of University of Melbourne and River Stone it is shown that optimized insect-derived N-demethylases of cytochrome P450 origin can efficiently convert the natural opioid oripavine to the much sought after chemical intermediate nororipavine. With the opioid epidemic ravishing the world cheaper drugs for countering overdose deaths and for treating addiction, access to an affordable supply of the ideal drug precursor nororipavine will be crucial. Using the methodology detailed in the paper, not only can the drugs in question be manufactured in a cheaper fashion, but certain environmentally harmful chemical transformations in their classical manufacturing route can be abolished.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960852425016517?via%3Dihub

.