# Antibiotic intermediates (6-APA, 7-ACA)

Penicillin G, 6-APA and 7-ACA: the fermentation-made cores of penicillins and cephalosporins, almost all made in China until India's PLI plants.

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/antibiotic_intermediates/

Fine chemicals · Pharmaceutical · No. 95

- Product family
- Feedstock: Crops and biomass
- not published globally; India's new capacity: penicillin G 15,000 t/yr (Lyfius), clavulanic acid 400 t/yr (Kinvan)
- HS 294110
 Fine chemicals · Pharmaceutical · Foundation · Matter

Most of the world's amoxicillin starts in a Chinese fermenter, and India is now trying to grow its own.

Chart: Illustration: Antibiotic intermediates (6-APA, 7-ACA)

##### Where it comes from

Chart: Map of where it comes from

High-yield Penicillium moulds ferment glucose into penicillin G, which enzymes split into 6-APA; Acremonium makes cephalosporin C, the source of 7-ACA.

##### Three things to know

1. About 1.7 t of penicillin G potassium is needed to make one tonne of 6-APA, the core of amoxicillin.
2. In the 1990s and 2000s, cheap Chinese fermentation drove Indian makers to close their penicillin G plants.
3. US rule 21 CFR 211.42 requires separate facilities for penicillins and cephalosporins, raising the capital cost of every plant.

##### The journey

1. 1 **Sugar, starch**Glucose, soy flour and corn steep liquor
2. 2 **Fermentation**Penicillium or Acremonium moulds in giant tanks
3. 3 **Recovery**Filtered, solvent-extracted, crystallised as salts
4. 4 **Enzyme cutting**Acylase splits off 6-APA or 7-ACA cores
5. 5 **Antibiotics**Amoxicillin, ampicillin, ceftriaxone and more
 Covered in [The chemical industry: what it makes and how it is organisedChemicals](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/chemicals/chem-industry-map/)[Pharmaceuticals and fermentation: from molecule to medicineChemicals](https://www.materialinsights.org/learn/chemicals/pharmaceuticals-and-fermentation/)

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## Other sections

- [Overview](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/antibiotic_intermediates/overview/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/antibiotic_intermediates/correlation/index.md)
- [Production route](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/antibiotic_intermediates/routes/index.md)
- [Production](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/antibiotic_intermediates/production/index.md)
- [Feedstocks](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/antibiotic_intermediates/feedstocks/index.md)
- [Cycles](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/antibiotic_intermediates/cycles/index.md)
- [Trading](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/antibiotic_intermediates/trading/index.md)
- [Movement](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/antibiotic_intermediates/movement/index.md)
- [Regulation](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/antibiotic_intermediates/regulation/index.md)
- [Characteristics](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/antibiotic_intermediates/characteristics/index.md)
- [Emissions](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/antibiotic_intermediates/emissions/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/chemicals/antibiotic_intermediates/links/index.md)