Abstract

Statins used in the treatment of dyslipidemias are top-selling drugs in the world. Economical production of statins in industrial scale is challenging, because the side chain of statins is a 3,5-dihydroxyacid derivative consisting of two asymmetric centers. The most prominent methods for the preparation of the side chain are based on biocatalysis and surveyed in this review.

Keywords: Statin, cardiovascular disease, biocatalysis, dehydrogenase, lipase, haloalcohol dehalogenase, nitrilase, aldolase