Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS

Innovative Mechanochemical Processes to synthesize green ACTIVE pharmaceutical ingredients.

Project description

A new environmentally friendly way of producing drugs

Mechanochemistry is a pioneering, low-cost way of inducing chemical processes via mechanical stress. Potentially, it could be used to mitigate the considerable environmental impact of drug manufacturing because mechanochemistry is less energy-intensive, emits less CO2, and does not require chemical solvents. In a pilot scheme, the EU-funded IMPACTIVE project will develop mechanochemical processes to produce several active pharmaceutical ingredients used in drugs. If the concept is proven viable, drug manufacturing would then meet the new environmental stipulations imposed by the EU Green Deal. Results will be openly shared with pharmaceutical manufacturers and other interested parties to promote awareness and adoption of this potentially game-changing process.

Objective

The environmental impact of the pharmaceutical industry is a huge problem. The production and use of pharmaceuticals cause high CO2 emissions, contamination of soils, biota, and water, and even dangers to human health through carcinogenic impurities. Especially the use of solvents is a major problem. The European Green Deal has led to strict regulations on environmental pollution by the pharma industry, causing manufacturers to move outside of the EU due to the high costs associated with green pharma. This results in supply chain fragility and low crisis preparedness in Europe. New methods to produce pharmaceuticals in a green, efficient, and economically friendly way are required.

The IMPACTIVE project brings together the expertise and knowledge from two COST Actions and will develop novel green methods to produce active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) using mechanochemistry as a disruptive technology (as acknowledged by IUPAC). Mechanochemistry uses mechanical processes, such as ball milling, twin-screw extrusion, resonant acoustic mixing, and spray drying, to induce chemical reactions.

The advantages of mechanochemistry include: no solvent use, high efficiency, low costs, and reduced energy use and CO2 emission. Upon completion of the project, we will provide proof-of-concept at a small pilot scale of the use of mechanochemistry to produce 6 APIs from 3 different families of compounds. Based on a recent study, switching to mechanochemistry can reduce terrestrial ecotoxicity and CO2 emissions by more than 85%, while production costs were reduced with 12%. The results of the IMPACTIVE project will thus enable pharmaceutical manufacturers to move back to Europe while minimizing environmental pollution.Through our strong dissemination and communication strategy we will ensure that the project?s results are shared with scientists, the pharmaceutical industry, and stakeholders from regulatory and public authorities to achieve maximum impact.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
This project's classification has been validated by the project's team.

Keywords

Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

HORIZON-RIA - HORIZON Research and Innovation Actions

See all projects funded under this funding scheme

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) HORIZON-HLTH-2021-IND-07

See all projects funded under this call

Coordinator

UNIVERSITE DE MONTPELLIER
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 1 945 046,00
Address
163 RUE AUGUSTE BROUSSONNET
34090 Montpellier
France

See on map

Region
Occitanie Languedoc-Roussillon Hérault
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 2 004 423,75

Participants (15)

Partners (4)

My booklet 0 0