Uploaded January 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In 1998, a pharmaceutical company suddenly lost the ability to make their lifesaving HIV drug at one of its production facilities. Then that failure spread to the company’s analysis labs. Then it spread to the other production facility, and within months the lifesaving drug had effectively vanished from the entire planet. And this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. How does a chemical just… disappear?
#chemistry #medicine #crystallization #ritonavir
Producers:
Andrew Sobey
Elaine Seward
Writer:
George Zaidan
Hosts:
George Zaidan
Executive Producer:
Matthew Radcliff
Scientific Consultants:
Stephen R. Byrn, Ph. D
Leila Duman, Ph.D.
Brianne Raccor, Ph.D.
Executive in Charge for PBS: Maribel Lopez
Director of Programming for PBS: Gabrielle Ewing
Assistant Director of Programming for PBS: John Campbell
Reactions is a production of the American Chemical Society.
© 2024 American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.
Sources:
Ritonavir
chemistryworld.com/podcasts/ritonavir/4011593.article
Ritonavir: An Extraordinary Example of Conformational Polymorphism
link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1011052932607
Dealing with the Impact of Ritonavir Polymorphs on the Late Stages of Bulk Drug Process Development
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/op000023y
Molecular, Solid-State and Surface Structures of the Conformational Polymorphic Forms of Ritonavir in Relation to their Physicochemical Properties | Pharmaceutical Research
link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11095-021-03048-2
Ritonavir Form III: A New Polymorph After 24 Years
jpharmsci.org/article/S0022-3549(22)00428-2/fulltext
Supersaturation Tower
flinnsci.com/api/library/Download/c931fa405d384d77a06086654faa8ba2
(IUCr) Why don't we find more polymorphs?
journals.iucr.org/b/issues/2013/04/00/bm5061/index.html
Facts and fictions about polymorphism
pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2015/cs/c5cs00227c
Disappearing Polymorphs Revisited
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/anie.201410356
NORVIR Update
natap.org/1998/norvirupdate.html
Polymorphism & Seeding: II. Case Studies
pd.chem.ucl.ac.uk/pdnn/mod3/polycase.htm
Ritonavir: The Polymorph That Revolutionized Drug
solitekpharma.com/ritonavir-how-the-discovery-of-a-new-polymorph-changed-drug-development-forever
Disappearing Polymorphs
pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ar00052a005
The Predictably Elusive Form II of Aspirin
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/ja056455b
Crystal Polymorphism in Chemical Process Development
annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-chembioeng-061010-114224
Open questions in organic crystal polymorphism
nature.com/articles/s42004-020-00388-9
Microgravity
nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/315959main_Microgravity_Microscopic_Observation.pdf
Tips for Taking RTV
natap.org/1998/k.htm
The Best Way to Temper Chocolate
seriouseats.com/the-food-lab-best-way-to-temper-chocolate
Compound Interest: The Polymorphs of Chocolate
compoundchem.com/2014/04/19/the-polymorphs-of-chocolate
How many more polymorphs of ROY remain undiscovered
pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2022/sc/d1sc06074k
Ostwald Rule of Stages─Myth or Reality?
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.cgd.2c00141
How to Grow Sodium Acetate Crystals
youtube.com/watch?v=2FqlAtWN2vo
Supersaturated Sodium Acetate Crystallization
youtube.com/watch?v=nrmQBdYp5tU
Crystallization.ram
youtube.com/watch?v=HoMLXFHylt8
Crystallization by Antisolvent Addition and Cooling
intechopen.com/chapters/39142
Effect of ultrasound on the kinetics of anti-solvent crystallization of sucrose
sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1350417721004284
Ritonavir Form III: A Coincidental Concurrent Discovery
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.cgd.2c01017
The History of HIV Treatment: Antiretroviral Therapy and More
webmd.com/hiv-aids/hiv-treatment-history
Recrystallization and Melting Point Analysis
youtube.com/watch?v=iIfmoD-G1qo
Crystallization of Sodium Acetate from a Supersaturated Solution
chem.libretexts.org/Ancillary_Materials/Demos_Techniques_and_Experiments/Lecture_Demonstrations/Crystallization_of_Sodium_Acetate_from_a_Supersaturated_Solution_(Demo)
Ritonavir: The Polymorph That Revolutionized Drug
solitekpharma.com/ritonavir-how-the-discovery-of-a-new-polymorph-changed-drug-development-forever
Combined crystal structure prediction and high-pressure crystallization in rational pharmaceutical polymorph screening
nature.com/articles/ncomms8793
Inconvenient Truths about Solid Form Landscapes Revealed in the Polymorphs and Hydrates of Gandotinib
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.cgd.9b00162
In 1998, a pharmaceutical company suddenly lost the ability to make their lifesaving HIV drug at one of its production facilities. Then that failure spread to the company’s analysis labs. Then it spread to the other production facility, and within months the lifesaving drug had effectively vanished from the entire planet. And this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened. How does a chemical just… disappear?
#chemistry #medicine #crystallization #ritonavir
Producers:
Andrew Sobey
Elaine Seward
Writer:
George Zaidan
Hosts:
George Zaidan
Executive Producer:
Matthew Radcliff
Scientific Consultants:
Stephen R. Byrn, Ph. D
Leila Duman, Ph.D.
Brianne Raccor, Ph.D.
Executive in Charge for PBS: Maribel Lopez
Director of Programming for PBS: Gabrielle Ewing
Assistant Director of Programming for PBS: John Campbell
Reactions is a production of the American Chemical Society.
© 2024 American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.
Sources:
Ritonavir
chemistryworld.com/podcasts/ritonavir/4011593.article
Ritonavir: An Extraordinary Example of Conformational Polymorphism
link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1011052932607
Dealing with the Impact of Ritonavir Polymorphs on the Late Stages of Bulk Drug Process Development
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/op000023y
Molecular, Solid-State and Surface Structures of the Conformational Polymorphic Forms of Ritonavir in Relation to their Physicochemical Properties | Pharmaceutical Research
link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11095-021-03048-2
Ritonavir Form III: A New Polymorph After 24 Years
jpharmsci.org/article/S0022-3549(22)00428-2/fulltext
Supersaturation Tower
flinnsci.com/api/library/Download/c931fa405d384d77a06086654faa8ba2
(IUCr) Why don't we find more polymorphs?
journals.iucr.org/b/issues/2013/04/00/bm5061/index.html
Facts and fictions about polymorphism
pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2015/cs/c5cs00227c
Disappearing Polymorphs Revisited
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/anie.201410356
NORVIR Update
natap.org/1998/norvirupdate.html
Polymorphism & Seeding: II. Case Studies
pd.chem.ucl.ac.uk/pdnn/mod3/polycase.htm
Ritonavir: The Polymorph That Revolutionized Drug
solitekpharma.com/ritonavir-how-the-discovery-of-a-new-polymorph-changed-drug-development-forever
Disappearing Polymorphs
pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ar00052a005
The Predictably Elusive Form II of Aspirin
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/ja056455b
Crystal Polymorphism in Chemical Process Development
annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-chembioeng-061010-114224
Open questions in organic crystal polymorphism
nature.com/articles/s42004-020-00388-9
Microgravity
nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/315959main_Microgravity_Microscopic_Observation.pdf
Tips for Taking RTV
natap.org/1998/k.htm
The Best Way to Temper Chocolate
seriouseats.com/the-food-lab-best-way-to-temper-chocolate
Compound Interest: The Polymorphs of Chocolate
compoundchem.com/2014/04/19/the-polymorphs-of-chocolate
How many more polymorphs of ROY remain undiscovered
pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2022/sc/d1sc06074k
Ostwald Rule of Stages─Myth or Reality?
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.cgd.2c00141
How to Grow Sodium Acetate Crystals
youtube.com/watch?v=2FqlAtWN2vo
Supersaturated Sodium Acetate Crystallization
youtube.com/watch?v=nrmQBdYp5tU
Crystallization.ram
youtube.com/watch?v=HoMLXFHylt8
Crystallization by Antisolvent Addition and Cooling
intechopen.com/chapters/39142
Effect of ultrasound on the kinetics of anti-solvent crystallization of sucrose
sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1350417721004284
Ritonavir Form III: A Coincidental Concurrent Discovery
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.cgd.2c01017
The History of HIV Treatment: Antiretroviral Therapy and More
webmd.com/hiv-aids/hiv-treatment-history
Recrystallization and Melting Point Analysis
youtube.com/watch?v=iIfmoD-G1qo
Crystallization of Sodium Acetate from a Supersaturated Solution
chem.libretexts.org/Ancillary_Materials/Demos_Techniques_and_Experiments/Lecture_Demonstrations/Crystallization_of_Sodium_Acetate_from_a_Supersaturated_Solution_(Demo)
Ritonavir: The Polymorph That Revolutionized Drug
solitekpharma.com/ritonavir-how-the-discovery-of-a-new-polymorph-changed-drug-development-forever
Combined crystal structure prediction and high-pressure crystallization in rational pharmaceutical polymorph screening
nature.com/articles/ncomms8793
Inconvenient Truths about Solid Form Landscapes Revealed in the Polymorphs and Hydrates of Gandotinib
pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.cgd.9b00162
