{
  "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.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "GlaxoSmithKline Carbon Neutral Laboratories for Sustainable Chemistry, University of Nottingham, Jubilee Campus, Triumph Road, Nottingham, United Kingdom, NG7 2TU",
    "School of Chemistry",
    "University Park",
    "Navin Saxena Research & Technology Pvt Ltd",
    "Rusan Pharma Limited, 58-D, Government Industrial Estate, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, 400067"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Robert Messias"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Jonathan C. Moore"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Kieran D. Jones"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Stephen P. Argent"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3,
        4
      ],
      "name": "Aakarsh Saxena"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        2
      ],
      "name": "Hon Wai Lam",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7543-256X"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/62xh8jcrjpx9a.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.26434/chemrxiv.15009962/v1",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "62xh8jcrjpx9a",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15009962/v1",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1605|Advanced Synthetic Organic Chemistry"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7220692745",
  "pdf_url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/pdf/10.26434/chemrxiv.15009962/v1",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-06",
  "publisher": "American Chemical Society (ACS)",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/62xh8jcrjpx9a.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:22Z",
      "native_id": "10.26434/chemrxiv.15009962",
      "source": "chemrxiv",
      "url": "https://chemrxiv.org/doi/full/10.26434/chemrxiv.15009962/v1"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "chemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:1605|Advanced Synthetic Organic Chemistry",
      "subfield": "organic"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Synthesis of Buprenorphine from Morphine",
  "title_text": "Synthesis of Buprenorphine from Morphine",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:22Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/62xh8jcrjpx9a",
  "venue": "ChemRxiv",
  "versions": []
}