Sigma-Aldrich to consolidate chiral chemistry offering

Sigma-Aldrich has outlined plans to consolidate its chiral chemistry service offering in order to achieve greater efficiency.

The plans will see all global chiral chromatography screening and small scale purification operations of Sigma-Aldrich's custom manufacturing and services business unit SAFC relocated to its Pharmorphix Solid State Research Laboratories in Cambridge.

Following this, the British site will become SAFC's worldwide hub for chiral chemistry services, providing a single, dedicated point of contact to customers.

Meanwhile, Paul Rodwell – a former principal scientist at Pfizer – has been appointed to lead SAFC's chiral chromatography method development team.

Mr Rodwell said: "SAFC offers a robust, cohesive range of chiral services that are applicable for a wide range of markets, from early stage drug discovery to route optimisation and product development, through gram to multi-kilo scale-up."

During the first quarter of 2012, Sigma-Aldrich achieved a sales total of $665 million (428.8 million pounds), setting a new quarterly record for the company.