Johnson Matthey Catalysis & Chiral Technologies

New Generation Asymmetric Hydrogenation Catalysts Launched

March 15, 2025 - Johnson Matthey Catalysis & Chiral Technologies today announced the launch of its next-generation asymmetric hydrogenation catalyst platform, representing a significant advancement in enantioselective synthesis for pharmaceutical manufacturing. The new JM-AH Series delivers unprecedented selectivity, achieving enantiomeric excess values exceeding 99.5% for previously challenging substrate classes.

Revolutionary Performance Metrics

The JM-AH Series builds upon decades of expertise in chiral catalyst design, incorporating novel phosphine ligand architectures that provide exceptional stereocontrol across diverse functional groups. Initial customer trials have demonstrated remarkable performance improvements compared to existing commercial catalysts.

Key performance highlights include:

Addressing Critical Pharmaceutical Needs

The pharmaceutical industry increasingly demands single-enantiomer active pharmaceutical ingredients, with regulatory agencies requiring rigorous demonstration of enantiomeric purity. Traditional resolution methods generate significant waste streams, while existing asymmetric catalysts often fall short of the required selectivity for complex drug intermediates.

Our development team focused on three critical substrate classes that have historically presented selectivity challenges: tetrasubstituted olefins bearing polar functionality, highly conjugated systems where electronic effects can override steric control, and substrates containing multiple coordinating groups that can interfere with catalyst-substrate binding.

The JM-AH Series incorporates proprietary ligand designs featuring tunable steric and electronic properties. Through systematic variation of phosphine substituents and backbone geometry, we have created a catalyst family that provides optimal selectivity across structurally diverse substrates. Computational modeling guided the design process, identifying key substrate-catalyst interactions that govern enantiofacial discrimination.

Technical Innovation Details

The catalyst platform employs rhodium and ruthenium metal centers paired with custom-designed bidentate phosphine ligands. Unlike traditional BINAP-based systems with fixed bite angles, our ligands incorporate conformationally flexible backbones that adapt to substrate geometry while maintaining strict chiral environment control.

Advanced ligand synthesis enables precise introduction of electron-donating and electron-withdrawing groups at strategic positions. This electronic tuning capability allows matching of catalyst properties to specific substrate requirements. For electron-deficient olefins, we employ electron-rich phosphines to enhance metal-substrate binding. Conversely, electron-rich substrates benefit from electron-poor ligands that facilitate product dissociation.

The modular ligand architecture permits rapid optimization for customer-specific applications. Our technical team maintains a comprehensive ligand library spanning wide ranges of steric bulk and electronic properties. When customers present challenging substrates, we can quickly screen relevant catalyst variations and identify optimal solutions without extensive custom synthesis.

Environmental and Economic Benefits

Beyond performance improvements, the JM-AH Series delivers substantial environmental and economic advantages. Higher substrate-to-catalyst ratios directly reduce precious metal consumption, lowering both cost and environmental impact. Some transformations achieve turnover numbers exceeding 50,000, representing order-of-magnitude improvements over previous catalysts.

Ambient temperature operation eliminates energy-intensive heating or cooling, reducing carbon footprint and improving process safety. Several catalysts function effectively at room temperature, enabling use of standard reactor equipment without specialized temperature control systems.

Aqueous compatibility supports green chemistry initiatives by reducing dependence on organic solvents. Selected catalyst formulations maintain full activity in water-organic solvent mixtures, facilitating product isolation through simple phase separation. This capability particularly benefits synthesis of highly polar pharmaceutical intermediates that are water-soluble.

Collaborative Development Approach

This launch reflects our commitment to collaborative innovation with pharmaceutical partners. Development incorporated extensive feedback from process chemists at leading pharmaceutical companies, ensuring the catalyst platform addresses real-world manufacturing challenges rather than purely academic objectives.

Beta testing programs involved twelve pharmaceutical companies spanning North America, Europe, and Asia. Participants evaluated catalysts on proprietary development compounds, providing critical validation of performance across diverse structural types. Their input shaped final catalyst formulations and influenced packaging options for different scale requirements.

We continue expanding the catalyst family based on emerging pharmaceutical needs. Our ligand synthesis team maintains active discovery programs targeting novel chiral scaffolds. Recent advances in high-throughput catalyst screening enable rapid evaluation of new designs, accelerating the development cycle from concept to commercial product.

Commercial Availability and Support

The JM-AH Series launches with six initial catalyst formulations covering the most common pharmaceutical substrate classes. Each catalyst undergoes rigorous quality control testing to ensure batch-to-batch consistency and documented performance. Comprehensive technical data sheets provide substrate scope information, recommended reaction conditions, and optimization guidelines.

Our technical support team offers complimentary consultation on catalyst selection and reaction optimization. Process development support includes access to our applications laboratory for substrate-specific screening. We maintain confidentiality agreements to protect customer intellectual property during collaborative projects.

Catalyst packaging options accommodate laboratory-scale screening through commercial manufacturing. Research quantities start at 100 milligrams for initial evaluation. Manufacturing-scale supply utilizes our global production network, ensuring reliable availability for commercial pharmaceutical production.

Looking Forward

This launch represents an important milestone in our ongoing commitment to advancing pharmaceutical synthesis capabilities. Asymmetric catalysis continues evolving rapidly, with new reaction methodologies and substrate classes continually emerging. Our research organization remains focused on pioneering the next generation of catalytic solutions.

We invite pharmaceutical chemists to explore how the JM-AH Series can enhance their asymmetric synthesis programs. Contact our technical team to request sample catalysts and discuss your specific application requirements.