All the above facilities belong to the same department: Chemical Synthesis. After a new compound emerges as a potential clinical candidate, larger amounts of the compound are soon needed for extensive pharmacological and toxicological studies as well as for the development of an appropriate formulation in the first clinical trials. To quickly produce the initial kg-quantities necessary for these studies, the Medicinal Chemistry synthesis has to be ‘trouble-shooting’ by the Kilolaboratory in close collaboration with Synthesis & Process Research thereby establishing a workable process on the short term. The ultimate goal of Synthesis and Process Research is to create a short, efficient, ecological, economical and technically feasible chemical synthesis ready for further technical development towards large-scale industrial production.

Highly talented synthetic chemists are required in Synthesis & Process Research and Catalysis. They should have a broad knowledge and experience in enantioselective synthetic methods and catalysis, an outstanding ability to perform retrosynthetic analyses together with an insatiable curiosity to explore novel reaction modes and technologies. In the Kilolaboratory, experienced chemists are required who have a broad knowledge of organic chemistry with respect to trouble-shooting and possess a good judgment for assessing technically feasible processes on a larger scale. In the chemical synthesis department, organic chemists generally start after a postdoctoral sojourn as laboratory heads in a synthesis lab with two lab technicians dealing with the synthesis of new clinical candidates. In addition to the line management career opportunities within the department (i. e. group leader, section head), synthetic chemists are frequently nominated project coordinators with the task to coordinate the synthetic activities between Medicinal Chemistry, Synthesis & Process Research, Catalysis, Kilolaboratory and Technical Process Development.

Based on individual personal interests and preferences, careers outside the conglomerate department of Chemical Synthesis have been pursued in various related departments e.g. Discovery Chemistry, Patent, Library & Scientific Information, Logistics, Regulatory Affairs etc.