Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 30, 2025

Author Spotlight: An Efficient Methodology to Confidently Differentiate and Characterize Fentanyl Analogs
Published on: November 8, 2024
Synthetic Approaches to the New Drugs Approved During 2022
Scott P France1, Erick A Lindsey2, Emma L McInturff3
1Process Research and Development, Merck & Co., Rahway, NJ 07065, United States.
Abstract:
In 2022, 23 new small molecule chemical entities were approved as drugs by the United States FDA, European Union EMA, Japan PMDA, and China NMPA. This review describes the synthetic approach demonstrated on largest scale for each new drug based on patent or primary literature. The synthetic routes highlight practical methods to construct molecules, sometimes on the manufacturing scale, to access the new drugs. Ten additional drugs approved in 2021 and one approved in 2020 are included that were not covered in the previous year's review.
Related Concept Videos
Drug Discovery: Overview
Synthetic Biology
Golden rice
Golden rice is a genetically modified...
Structure-Activity Relationships and Drug Design
SAR studies the intricate relationship between a drug's chemical structure and biological activity. It focuses on understanding how modifications to a drug's structure can influence...
Drug Nomenclature
Opioid Analgesics: Synthetic and Semisynthetic Opioids
Drug Classes and Categories

