Biotransformations at Syngenta: A Focused Perspective on Metabolites and Natural Products

In this article we present our perspective on how biotransformations can contribute to key sustainability challenges faced by the agrochemical industry. We focus on two key areas where biotransformations have enabled research breakthroughs, the preparative synthesis of metabolite standards and natural products. Increasingly stringent regulatory requirements have rendered early metabolite identification and production an expanding activity to progress an active ingredient to the market. We present a collaborative project on unspecific peroxygenases for selective oxidation of pyrethroid-related compounds, illustrating future directions in research for the production of metabolites. Natural products provide an opportunity to explore a vast chemical space and to have an improved sustainability profile. Nevertheless, their fermentation at large scale and low cost is still challenging, and we present strategies aiming at increasing the fermentation titre and batch purity.