Recent developments in biocatalysis and its influence on the pharmaceutical industry

Biocatalysis has demonstrated to be more sustainable, and the most economical, efficient, and eco-friendly process in the production of active pharmaceutical intermediates (APIs) and pharmaceuticals. Recent developments in biocatalytic reactions are driven by the advances in biochemistry, recombinant DNA technology, enzyme engineering, bioinformatics, random and site-directed mutagenesis, enzyme-directed evolution, high-throughput enzyme screening and analysis, fermentation, and robotic-artificial intelligence technologies. Biocatalysis is one of the most promising technologies, but it needs more innovation for the sustainable synthesis of advanced novel active pharmaceuticals and APIs for the future pharmaceutical. This chapter highlights the history of biocatalysis and recent developments in the production of advanced therapeutic drugs in the pharmaceutical industry.