pensive amino acid is L-threonine, listed at $1500 per kilo, and which probably fee is used today in only minute quantities for research. Threonine is also a target for companies like D o w which has it under study in its new pilot plant. Amino acid sales in 1955 totaled $4.8 million. An estimated $ 3 million of the sales total was represented by methionine and glutamic acid—a pos M a r k e t s become more attractive as new synthetic sible indication of future developments. Methionine and lysine, says H. R. ventures get under w a y for a m i n o acids Rosenberg of D u Pont, will take their place beside vitamins as regular feed Dow now also make methionine and ingredients. J U R U G AND CHEMICAL FIRMS overlook n o bets in t h e human and animal nutri Monsanto produces what it calls a Merck, with a full line of essential tion field. Witness how they have ex methionine hydroxy analog. amino acids in production, has ex panded in amino acids, vitamins, anti Among the important amino acids p a n d e d output of lysine several times. biotics, and other supplements. Amino which have been extracted u p to now A new product, Retonil, being mar acids are n o t new, but despite modest are argenine, cystine, L-cysteine, and keted this month by Merck is casein sales (less t h a n $ 5 million in 1955), histamine. There are, of course, still hydrolysate, phenylalanine-deficient. It facilities for making amino acids syn others. The point to emphasize, how is for treating the disease known as thetically are on t h e increase. ever, is that amino acids are being phenyl ketone urea, growing o u t of the Dow and Pfizer are among the brought down into lower cost brackets. failure to metabolize alanine, and re chemical manufacturers stepping up Winthrop Laboratories, which produces sulting in undue accumulation of amino acid output. Pfizer recently or sells amino acids for the pharmaceu amino acids in the body. started what it terms the first commer tical trade, has just issued a new price Manufacturing sources for amino cial unit for making lysine (C&EN, list which shows a surprising number acids are many and varied. I n addi below the $100 per kilo level. Dec. 3, 1956, page 5 9 8 8 ) . Some con tion to chemical companies, drug mak sider this a smart move by Pfizer, since Arginine and phenylalanine are each ers, corn and fish meal processors, a long-conducted research has shown at the $80 level, while L-cysteine, D L rubber firm, and a half dozen labora cereal grains and other foods low in lysine, and valine are below $50 per tories supply the aminos. O n e of the this amino acid. kilo (2.2 p o u n d s ) . Glutamic acid, the labs, H. M. Chemical Co. Ltd., Santa • Amino Research Dates Back. cheapest amino acid, is listed at $6.50 Last September, Edgar C. Britton of per kilo. Pharmaceutical grades sell at Monica, Calif., makes about 3 0 0 amino Dow's research laboratory said that higher levels than those intended for acids and related items. T h e rubber these essential food elements aw^it only feeds. T h e pharmaceutical grade of company, B. F . Goodrich, recovers βlarge-scale production by synthetic methionine, for example, is $3.50 p e r alanine in one of its processes. • Drug M a r k e t Trends. T h e $500 processes t o become cheap enough for pound in 50-pound fiber drums, and million annual business in medicinal general use. In December, Dow got the feed grade $2.65 per pound. chemicals at the manufacturers' level its $500,000 pilot plant going to make • Amino Acid V o l u m e . Most exis highlighted by increasing demand for 15 of the 18 amino acids it sells. Its major groups such as antibiotics, sulfa amino acid research dates back to 1942, compounds, and hormone products. and others started even earlier. De Penicillin staged a strong comeback velopment of amino acids has been
