Semi-synthetic artemisinin: a model for the use of synthetic biology in pharmaceutical development

Recent developments in synthetic biology, combined with continued progress in systems biology and metabolic engineering, have enabled the engineering of microorganisms to produce heterologous molecules in a manner that was previously unfeasible. The successful synthesis and recent entry of semi-synthetic artemisinin into commercial production is the first demonstration of the potential of synthetic biology for the development and production of pharmaceutical agents. In this Review, we describe the metabolic engineering and synthetic biology approaches that were used to develop this important antimalarial drug precursor. This not only demonstrates the incredible potential of the available technologies but also illuminates how lessons learned from this work could be applied to the production of other pharmaceutical agents.