In the pursuit of new pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals, chemists in the life science industry require access to mild and robust synthetic methodologies to systematically modify chemical structures, explore novel chemical space, and enable efficient synthesis. In this context, photocatalysis has emerged as a powerful technology for the synthesis of complex and often highly functionalized molecules. This Review aims to summarize the published contributions to the field from the life science industry, including research from industrial-academic partnerships. An overview of the synthetic methodologies developed and strategic applications in chemical synthesis, including peptide functionalization, isotope labeling, and both DNA-encoded and traditional library synthesis, is provided, along with a summary of the state-of-the-art in photoreactor technology and the effective upscaling of photocatalytic reactions.

Although greener and faster access to fine chemicals and APIs is highly desirable, there are currently no synthetic methodologies which undergo reaction completions within a few seconds to minutes in water under benchtop laboratory conditions. Here, we report a methodology that allows the instantaneous formation of ligated ultrasmall Pd nanoparticles in the hydrophobic pockets of benign cellulose derivative (HPMC) for chemical reactions to proceed very fast in water under mild reaction conditions. Unprecedented short reaction times were exemplified for the Buchwald–Hartwig aminations. In addition, very short reaction times of less than a minute were also demonstrated for the amide couplings, which is the most utilized reaction type in the pharmaceutical industry.

The discovery of potent and selective cyanamide-based inhibitors of the cysteine protease cathepsin C is detailed. Optimization of the template with regard to plasma stability led to the identification of compound 17, a potent cathepsin C inhibitor with excellent selectivity over other cathepsins and potent in vivo activity in a cigarette smoke mouse model.

The diastereoselective asymmetric synthesis of vicinal all-carbon-atom quaternary stereocenters is a challenging problem in organic synthesis for which only few solutions have been described. A catalytic asymmetric Nazarov cyclization of fully substituted dienones that provides cyclopentenone derivatives with vicinal quaternary stereocenters in high optical purity and as single diastereoisomers is now reported.

The use of bicyclo[1.1.1]­pentanes (BCPs) as para-disubstituted aryl bioisosteres has gained considerable momentum in drug development programs. Carbon–carbon bond formation via transition-metal-mediated cross-coupling represents an attractive strategy to generate BCP–aryl compounds for late-stage functionalization, but these typically require reactive organometallics to prepare BCP nucleophiles on demand from [1.1.1]­propellane. In this study, the synthesis and Ni-catalyzed functionalization of BCP redox-active esters with (hetero)­aryl bromides via the action of a photoactive electron donor–acceptor complex are reported.