Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Buprenorphine is a WHO essential medicine widely used to treat pain and opioid addiction, which is currently manufactured from thebaine, a morphinan alkaloid obtained from the poppy plant. However, thebaine has a low abundance in natural poppy strains, its production is geographically concentrated, and recent years have seen global shortages. These factors present a potential vulnerability in the buprenorphine supply chain. Herein, we report the synthesis of buprenorphine from morphine, the most abundant and cheapest poppy alkaloid. To streamline the synthesis, with practical manufacture in mind, our route combines multiple transformations into several one-pot sequences. The synthesis of buprenorphine from a more available starting material may help to ensure continued supply of this critical therapeutic.
Source: ChemRxiv
Institution: University of Nottingham
Language: English
Subfield: Organic Chemistry
Field: Chemistry
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7220692745