Understanding the stereochemistry of a chiral pharmaceutical drug allows medicin

Question

Understanding the stereochemistry of a chiral pharmaceutical drug allows medicinal chemists to synthesize and prepare the drug either in an enatiomerically ( or diastereomerically) enriched form, or as a racemic mixture of the various stereoisomers. What are the economics of manufacturing a drug either as a racemic mixture or in its biologically active form? The high cost of drugs has forced some people to take drastic action such as leaving the US to buy drugs in other countries. Suggest alternative approaches to solving this problem.

Explanation / Answer

Drugs are often active in an enantiomerically pure form or in certain cases in racemic form. The compounds used as drug are thus designed an synthesized in the biologically active form strating with achiral strating material with an enantiomeric selective reaction strategy or strating with an enantiomeric substrate. The end product a drug molecule is always more expensive and to be used in minute quantities which makes the synhtetic method feasible and economically viable.

Alternative to the purchase of drugs from other countries would be to prepare generic drugs, drugs which have slightly modifed structures but activites similar to the original drug molecule. The modified structural drug would be easier to synthesize and cheaper than the original drug.

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