Custom Synthesis

Since the costs depend on diverse requirements and conditions, there are significant differences for our custom synthesis services within all our projects. Relevant parameters are prices of starting materials, number and complexity of synthesis steps, safety requirements as well as customer requirements on purity, documentation and analytical specification.

Due to Taros‘ holistic service approach and our broad experience in many industrial applications, our customers not only contract us for mere synthetic chemistry, but rather as a solution provider and consultant for integrated projects, sophisticated chemistry challenges and a boost of their innovation process. That is why we consider the overall risk profile and the research intensity in our project calculations as well.

We start with a scientific assessment and an evaluation of feasibility in consultation with a first research of relevant literature and patents. Due to the IP sensibility of almost all projects, first discussions are typically covered by Non-Disclosure-Agreements. After we have discussed your requirements (e.g. priorities, quantities, additional conditions), we will elaborate a synthesis approach and evaluate potential risks and costs for the project. Especially for research intensive projects we advise our customers to provide as much project background as possible in order anticipate challenges and above all, to proactively bring in ideas and our scientific know-how for the benefit of the customer. Finally an individual quote will be prepared considering further specific demands (e.g. depth of documentation, frequency of communication, analytical methods, etc.).

Anyway, we recommend to contact our chemists to get a solution for your chemistry challenges as soon as possible – Get in touch!

Most of the project or outsourcing managers from our customers are chemists by training, so they already know the almost exponential relationship between purity and costs. Some areas of applications demand exceptional levels of purity. For example, materials for the development of OLEDs typically require compounds of purity way beyond the 99%. Our scientist are experienced in a lot of industrial applications, so we are able to anticipate, and more importantly to meet these challenges.

To those who are not familiar with the underlying cause. There is a multitude of determinants in the course of a custom synthesis project. Most notably, increased purification efforts as well as the need to expend larger amounts of starting materials, intermediates and products (as a high share will be lost during purification) to finally reach a higher purity of compounds.

If you have further questions, our chemists will be happy to discuss your issues – Get in touch!

Due to the high share of research intensity, risk profile and uncertainty of the project progression of our customer inquiries, we primarily work on a Full Time Equivalent (FTE) basis. So the price is calculated based on the resources employed in the project. Within a R&D based environment, the FTE approach is typically employed in order to be able to compare quotes and to reduce project management costs as much as possible. Depending on the nature of the project as well as the scope of the collaboration there is a lot of space for individual arrangements. Our FTE services include a full service package: a dedicated project manager for scientific exchange and communication, biweekly Reports according to your specific needs, conference calls, joint steering committees if required, etc. Most important to our clients, they receive full access to synthetic recipes and all Intellectual Property Rights in order to fully exploit our services for their product development and innovation agenda.

Since Taros is not commissioned for very simple and plain synthesis projects, only a minor share of our projects are performed on a Fee for Service (FFS) model which covers the whole R&D risks. However, rest assured, Taros carefully examines all customer inquiries. If a customer request still appears to be realizable from a commercial perspective, we are happy to conduct straight forward custom synthesis service as well.

Only in very special cases and long-term collaborations we settle on a royalty model with our partners. In this rather long-term and strategic collaborations we contribute ideas and know-how and invest ourselves a significant amount of resources. This model remunerates Taros‘ investments we bring in as a privately owned company and reflects our approach to build a portfolio of research projects with co-ownership.

Our scientific business development will be happy to advice you in order to prepare a customized quote – Get in touch!

We strongly recommend to provide as much information as possible, because the more information we get on your project the more we will be able to customize a quote. Since Taros is usually rather contracted as a solution provider (e.g. understanding of your industrial application is required) than for a custom synthesis service, a broad background on your project and product development objectives help us to be creative and exploit our chemistry expertise across several disciplines (organic chemistry, photochemistry parallel chemistry, polymer chemistry, computational chemistry, medicinal chemistry, etc.) and across diverse industrial applications (OLED materials, coatings, dyes, medtech and healthcare, consumer goods, flavors and cosmetics, consumer goods, petrochemical, etc.). Due to the high share of research intensity in most of the customer inquiries we typically exchange all information with (potential) customers under Non-Disclosure-Agreements (NDA) right from the beginning. As a leading chemistry CRO and custom synthesis company in Europe we are experienced in dealing with highly sensitive information and we have established internal processes and guidelines to ensure highest level of confidentiality.

Besides the background and objective of your project, we always enquire standard general information on the chemistry as well as on the scope of the basic services:

• Target structure, CAS nr., etc. for custom synthesis.
• Quantitates.
• Chemical purity and optical purity (if applicable).
• Preferred analytical methods.
• Requirements regarding reporting and communication.

Contact our scientific business development, they will be happy to prepare a customized quote – Get in touch!

Besides the mere compounds from a custom synthesis service, our customers are rather interested in the synthetic recipes, scientific approaches, etc. in particular IPR. Indeed, within our Full Time Equivalent (FTE) service model we offer our customers a full service package in order to enable them to independently pursue their product development or innovation agenda. For example, a typical objective of our customers is to increase their flexibility and supply independency for key raw materials. We provide the full documentation on synthetic recipes, scientific approaches, chemical process development etc. so that our customer gains a technical information package to set up own processes or to instruct contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs) more effectively. However, most important, Taros’ customers receive all Intellectual Property Rights in order to fully exploit results which our scientists have elaborated within the course of a project. Since our scientists have a broad chemical background and experience across diverse industrial applications they are able to explore new chemical matter and generate patentable results. Due to their high share of scientific contribution on customer projects, our scientists are regularly mentioned in patents as co-inventors – that proofs our scientific excellence and added value of our custom synthesis services.

Contact our scientific business development, they will be happy to advice you on your specific requirements – Get in touch!

Taros operates state-of-the-art laboratories including 60 fume hoods and kilo lab equipment at its headquarter in Germany. Consequently we perform any discovery chemistry and custom synthesis services from low lab scale to batch productions of fine and specialty chemicals on a multi-kg scale. Starting from literature or patent research as well as screening of relevant parameters, we perform a design of experiment (DOE) approach and reaction calorimetry to scale up custom synthesis projects. Moreover, we are able to handle hazardous substances, APIs and highly reactive reagents in a glovebox.

Within our pilot-plant facilities in Asia we are able to scale a chemical process from multi-kg up to a ton per year. Altogether we provide a significant added value by bridging the gap from discovery chemistry to applied research at pilot scale. Taros is one of the very few chemistry CROs in Europe to support customers along the whole value chain from lab to multi KG scale and small scale custom manufacturing.

Of course our individual working scale heavily depends on the nature of chemistry and further requirements and conditions.

That is why we recommend to contact our scientific business development, they are happy to explain our capabilities in detail – Get in touch!

Needless to say, this cannot be emphasized within a straight-forward one-liner. Taros’ added value depends on different requirements, specific circumstances and challenges which our customers face. In general, Taros has a track record of more than 20 years in synthetic Chemistry R&D, and has evolved as a leading chemistry CRO  and custom synthesis company for different branches and industries.

Customer benefits due to Taros’ individual capabilities:

• We engage in generation of new IP, patent validation services and provide full access to IP rights in order to support our customers’ strategic goals and R&D portfolio. A lot of our customer patents’ mention our scientists as co-inventors.
• Excellence in several chemical disciplines (organic chemistry, photochemistry parallel chemistry, polymer chemistry, computational chemistry, medicinal chemistry, etc.) to provide hands-on consultancy and to solve sophisticated chemistry challenges.
• Extensive know-how over different classes of fine- and specialty chemicals (photoinitiators, functionalized monomers, polymeric dispersions, dyes and fluorescents, labelled compounds, etc.) and a plethora of industrial applications (OLED materials, coatings, dyes, medtech and healthcare, consumer goods, flavors and cosmetics, consumer goods, petrochemicals, etc.) to translate customer demands into the necessary physico-chemical properties.
• We are bridging the gap from discovery chemistry to applied research at pilot scale. So we are able to support our customers along the whole value chain from lab to multi KG scale for validation purposes, small scale custom manufacturing, etc.
• We increase your cost effectiveness on multiple ways. Having performed more than 13,000 successful project we are experienced with sophisticated chemistry challenges and very narrow timelines set by our customers. Taros offers outsourcing opportunities for projects with a high share of research intensity and risk profile at competitive FTE rates. As a subject matter expert, we are usually involved to reduce the costs of long-term R&D activities. For example, we increase the supply independency for key raw materials. Our pilot-plant facilities in Asia enable custom synthesis for very price sensitive projects as well as an access to a large supplier network for starting materials, intermediates and key raw materials which are usually hard to find
• We increase your time effectiveness on multiple ways. Many of our large customers face rather internal hurdles like inflexible provisions and authorization procedures. Taros is a small-and-medium sized and privately owned chemistry CRO allowing flexible and agile processes to pursue a fully customer centric approach. We run 2-shift operations at our headquarter in Germany as well as at our pilot-plant facilities in Asia, thereby providing our customers with a broad time frame every day.
• We serve as your extended workbench and lab facilities in case you are running out of capacity. Despite having a large R&D department many of our customers face bottlenecks in capacity, equipment or knowhow which they cannot address in due time. Other customers even do not have a R&D department themselves, and rather pursue a semi-virtual or fully virtual R&D approach by outsourcing all chemistry activities or just some challenges like custom synthesis service.
• We know how to manage big projects and how to deal with scientists and business managers from different industrial or academic backgrounds. For example Taros was heading the chemistry efforts of the EUR 196 million funded European Lead Factory consortium (2013-2018). In that role we were responsible for managing the chemistry part of the entire consortium (7 small and medium enterprises and 10 academic groups within Europe) to develop and deliver the public compound collection consisting of 200.000 innovative screening compounds. Have a look at the Business Planet feature from Euronews on our CEO explaining the vital role of SMEs in medical research.

Contact our scientific business development. It is easiest way to learn all the benefits which Taros is able to offer you – Get in touch!