Route to fiendishly complex marine molecule cut in half
Shortcut to promising natural product already in Alzheimer’s and HIV trials
The total synthesis of bryostatin 1 – a compound that is in trials to treat Alzheimer’s and HIV – has been substantially shortened and simplified. The new route can produce grams of the scarce marine natural product and can be scaled-up to meet clinical needs.1 The synthesis also offers researchers a way to prepare new analogues of the molecule that could have other therapeutic uses.