Annual Activities Report 2011 - INCT-Inofar - UFRJ

Annual Report 2011 | INCT-INOFAR
69
New synthetic route for atorvastatin – In December 2010, the same
month where the Lipitor ®/ Pfizer patent expired in Brazil, INCT-
INOFAR researchers announced the discovery of a new synthetic
route for the production of its active principle, atorvastatin. A
continuous use medication for cholesterol reduction of wide use,
Lipitor® is the number one sold pharmaceutical in the world.
INCT-INOFAR produced a hot site to make the media clipping on
the discovery available. Interviews with the researchers responsible
for the discovery, Prof. Luiz Carlos Dias and Dr. Adriano Siqueira
Vieira of the Institute of Chemistry of the State University of
Campinas (UNICAMP) on the radio, TV, newspapers, magazines
and websites in Brazil and abroad are available.
www.portaldosfarmacos.ccs.ufrj.br/inct/hot_atorvastatina/main.swf
At the atorvastatin hot site, all it takes is a click on
the headlines to read the articles.
New synthetic route for Sunitinib – Recommended to fight certain
types of cancers on the kidneys, stomach, and intestines, Sunitinib is
the active principle of Sutent®/ Pfizer, a high price medication – around
11 thousand Reais for a box with 28 pills - that, unfortunately, is not
made available in the public health care system (SUS), and which is the
target of several lawsuits because of this.
The new synthetic route for Sunitinib was developed by Prof. Angelo da
Cunha Pinto, and by Prof. Barbara Vasconcellos da Silva, of the Institute
of Chemistry of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). After
the news was publicized in academic journals, in late September 2011,
the Terra Portal in Spain also reported on the discovery.
09/28/2011 Science Journal:
High cost medication may have cheaper generic
09/29/2011 FAPERJ Journal:
Researchers develop process to produce
generic chemotherapeutical
09/29/2011 Portal Terra:
Tecnología brasileña reduce costo de
medicina contra el cáncer
10/04/2011 iSaúde! Portal:
Process developed in Brazil allows for production
of generic chemotherapeutical
10/13/2011 Vital Look / UFRJ:
Institute of Chemistry researchers develop generic
pharmaceutical to fight certain types of cancer