Diversification of pharmaceutical manufacturing processes: Taking the plunge into the non-PGM catalyst pool

Recent global events have led to the cost of platinum group metals (PGMs) reaching unprecedented heights. Many chemical companies are therefore starting to seriously consider and evaluate if, and where, they can substitute PGMs for non-PGMs in their catalytic processes. This review covers recent large-scale applications of non-PGM catalysts in the modern pharmaceutical industry. By highlighting these selected successful examples of non-PGM-catalyzed processes from the literature, we hope to emphasize the enormous potential of non-PGM catalysis and inspire further development within this field to enable this technology to progress towards manufacturing processes. We also present some historical context and review the perceived advantages and challenges of implementing non-PGM catalysts in the pharmaceutical manufacturing environment.