Supply chains become stressed when demand for essential products increases rapidly in times of crisis. This year, the scourge of coronavirus highlighted the fragility of diverse supply chains, affecting the world’s pipeline of hand sanitizer, 1 toilet paper,2 and pharmaceutical starting materials. 3 Many drug repurposing studies are now underway. 4 If a winning therapeutic emerges, it is unlikely that the existing inventory of the medicine, or even the chemical raw materials needed to synthesize it,5 will be available in the quantities required to satisfy global demand. We show the use of a retrosynthetic artificial intelligence (AI) 6-10 to navigate multiple parallel synthetic sequences, and arrive at plausible alternate reagent supply chains for twelve investigational COVID-19 therapeutics. In many instances, the AI utilizes C–H functionalization logic, 11-13 and we have experimentally validated several syntheses, including a route to the antiviral umifenovir that requires functionalization of six C–H bonds. This general solution to chemical supply chain reinforcement will be useful during global disruptions, such as during a pandemic.

The global disruption caused by the 2020 coronavirus pandemic stressed the supply chain of many products, including pharmaceuticals. Multiple drug repurposing studies for COVID-19 are now underway. If a winning therapeutic emerges, it is unlikely that the existing inventory of the medicine, or even the chemical raw materials needed to synthesize it, will be available in the quantities required. We used retrosynthetic software to arrive at alternate chemical supply chains for the antiviral drug umifenovir, as well as eleven other antiviral and anti-inflammatory drugs. We have experimentally validated four routes to umifenovir and one route to bromhexine. In several instances, the software utilizes C–H functionalization logic, and one route to umifenovir employs functionalization of six C–H bonds. The general strategy we apply can be used to identify distinct starting materials, and relieve stress on existing supply chains.

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