FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | November 19, 2012

$100,000 grant for greener solvent research available

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19, 2012 — The ACS GCI Pharmaceutical Roundtable, a partnership between the American Chemical Society’s Green Chemistry Institute (ACS GCI) and member corporations in the pharmaceutical field, is accepting proposals for a one-year, $100,000 grant supporting research in the development of greener solvents that can be used in the pharmaceutical industry.

Media Contact

Christiana Briddell
202-872-6103
c_briddell@acs.org

The award is intended to support research towards developing greener solvent(s) as potential replacements for polar aprotic solvents such as DMF, NMP and DMAc. These solvents are commonly used in the pharmaceutical industry because of their powerful solvating properties but have significant drawbacks. Not only does their use result in a large amount of wastewater contamination, but, of more concern, they are known hazards to reproductive health. The Roundtable is committed to finding greener alternatives that perform comparably or better than currently available solvents.

Proposals for this award are invited from public and private institutions of higher education worldwide. Deadline for receipt of proposals is January 15, 2013, at 5 p.m. EDT. More information is available at www.acs.org/gcipharmaroundtable. This is the 12th grant to be awarded by the Roundtable since 2007. In all, the Roundtable has awarded more than $1.2 million in grants dedicated to pharmaceutically relevant green chemistry and engineering research.

The ACS GCI Pharmaceutical Roundtable is a partnership between ACS GCI and pharmaceutical-related corporations united by a shared commitment to integrate the principles of green chemistry and engineering into the business of drug discovery and production. Current members include Amgen; AstraZeneca; Boehringer-Ingelheim; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Codexis; Dr. Reddy’s; DSM Pharmaceutical Products; Eli Lilly and Company; GlaxoSmithKline; Johnson & Johnson; Merck & Co., Inc.; Novartis; Pfizer Inc.; Roche; Sanofi; and ACS GCI.

To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society, contact newsroom@acs.org.

###

The ACS Green Chemistry Institute® is an organization focused on catalyzing and enabling the implementation of green chemistry and engineering throughout the global chemical enterprise. ACS GCI operates industrial roundtables; conducts an annual Green Chemistry & Engineering conference, seminars and training; maintains an international network of 26 green chemistry chapters; and with its partner NSF International, led the effort to establish the first consensus standard for greener chemical products and process information in the United States.