AstraZeneca purchasing Lactam from China: Seroquel's key ingredient

Lactam, a key ingredient for AstraZeneca's atypical antipsychotic drug Seroquel has been outsourced to China for manufacturing since 2007.

"To assist with the move towards more outsourced production, AstraZeneca has opened a new Chinese sourcing centre near Shanghai to help it to identify low-cost producers and to manage the transition from in-house to outsourced production. It already operates another sourcing office in Bangalore, India. Contract manufacturers in both countries, as well as other regions such as Eastern Europe, are expected to play a growing role in the years ahead."

Seroquel is AstraZeneca's $4.5 billion dollar drug in sales for 2008, created for Schizophrenia, and expanded use into depression, anxiety, insomnia and bipolar treatments.AstraZeneca is currently in court for diabetes lawsuits. AstraZeneca internal documents prove the company knew the side effect before the drug was approved for marketing by the FDA.
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LACTAM and Seroquel: What is Lactam?

Behavioral Approach to Nondyskinetic Dopamine Antagonists: Identification of Seroquel.

Journal of Medicinal Chemistry -2001

Edward J. Warawa,*† Bernard M. Migler,‡ Cyrus J. Ohnmacht,† Ann L. Needles,† George C. Gatos,† Frances M. McLaren,† Cynthia L. Nelson,† and Karen M. Kirkland§

Departments of Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmacology, and Drug Disposition and Metabolism, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, P.O. Box 15437, Wilmington, Delaware 19850-5437

A great need exists for antipsychotic drugs which will not induce extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS) and tardive dyskinesias (TDs). These side effects are deemed to be a consequence of nonselective blockade of nigrostriatal and mesolimbic dopamine D2 receptors. Nondyskinetic clozapine (1) is a low-potency D2 dopamine receptor antagonist which appears to act selectively in the mesolimbic area. In this work dopamine antagonism was assessed in two mouse behavioral assays: antagonism of apomorphine-induced climbing and antagonism of apomorphine-induced disruption of swimming. The potential for the liability of dyskinesias was determined in haloperidol-sensitized Cebus monkeys. Initial examination of a few close cogeners of 1 enhanced confidence in the Cebus model as a predictor of dyskinetic potential. Considering dibenzazepines, 2 was not dyskinetic whereas 2a was dyskinetic. Among dibenzodiazepines, 1 did not induce dyskinesias whereas its N-2-(2-hydroxyethoxy)ethyl analogue 3 was dyskinetic. The emergence of such distinctions presented an opportunity. Thus, aromatic and N-substituted analogues of 6-(piperazin-1-yl)-11H-dibenz[b,e]azepines and 11-(piperazin-1-yl)dibenzo[b,f][1,4]thiazepines and -oxazepines were prepared and evaluated. 11-(4-[2-(2-Hydroxyethoxy)ethyl]piperazin-1-yl)dibenzo[b,f][1,4]thiazepine (23) was found to be an apomorphine antagonist comparable to clozapine. It was essentially nondyskinetic in the Cebus model. With 23 as a platform, a number of N-substituted analogues were found to be good apomorphine antagonists but all were dyskinetic. (Haldol & Clozaril)

Lactam:A cyclic amide that is the nitrogen analog of a lactone. For example, a γ-aminobutyric acid readily forms γ-butyrolactam (also known as 2-pyrrolidinone) upon heating, as in the reaction below. The tautomeric enol form of a lactam is known as a lactim.
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AstraZeneca Becomes Major Sponsor of Shanghai Expo UK Pavilion-2010.

From AstraZeneca's website:

"AstraZeneca China has agreed to become a major sponsor of the UK Pavilion at Shanghai Expo 2010. AstraZeneca’s sponsorship will amount to £500,000 and will directly support the design, development and staging of the British pavilion.

Even before Expo 2010 begins, AstraZeneca will run a series of public health related events in Shanghai, beginning in 2008 through to Expo, supporting the Better City, Better Life theme.

David Brennan, CEO of AstraZeneca, said, "We believe Shanghai Expo 2010 provides an opportunity to showcase and build public awareness and greater understanding of the importance of science and innovation in improving public health. Participation in Expo through sponsorship of the British pavilion demonstrates our commitment as a leading innovative global pharmaceutical company to supporting the Chinese, British and Shanghai governments in this important and historic event."

AstraZeneca China has its headquarters in Shanghai, with 25 branch offices in major cities across China’s mainland. It has nearly 3,000 employees working for the sectors of manufacturing, sales, clinical research and new products development. The manufacturing plant located in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, is AstraZeneca’s biggest production base in Asia with an investment of US$150 million. In May 2006, AstraZeneca announced to invest US$100 million to establish its R&D base in Shanghai, the AstraZeneca Innovation Centre China (ICC).

AstraZeneca is one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies with healthcare sales of U.S. $26.47 billion dollars.
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The benefit of being a 26 billion dollar company:

$500 million+ spent to defend AstraZeneca in current diabetes U.S.court proceedings (2009).
$4.5 million spent lobbying U.S. Congress in 2008.
$4.8 billion dollar profit, sales atypical antipsychotic : Seroquel
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*Cebus Monkeys-thank them for testing your drugs

Capuchin Monkey (Cebus capucinus).

Agile and lean, capuchin monkeys weigh only 3 - 9 pounds (1.36 - 4.9 kilograms). The fur of the capuchin monkey varies, but is most commonly seen with cream or light tan coloring around the face, neck and shoulders. The rest of its coat is dark brown. The hair is shorter and darker on the capuchin's back than on other parts of its body. The face of this cute monkey will range from white to pink in color. The tail is long, covered in hair and is partially able to wrap around branches.