Dude, where's my green chemical revolution? DUDE CHEM raises €6.5M in greener pharma

Today green chemistry startup DUDE CHEM closed a €6.5 million Seed round.

The (amusingly named) chemistry company supplies greener produced active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and intermediates — disrupting the €5.5T global pharma-chemical industry and building the next generation of pharmaceutical production in Europe. 

Berlin-based DUDE CHEM was launched in 2021 by a team with a strong scientific background and industry experience. 

Using a network of manufacturers, it aims to transform the entire pharma-chemical industry, bringing critical infrastructure such as medicine manufacturing back to Europe. 

There has been little innovation in the last century in how chemical processes are usually developed in the industry; most of today’s production still relies on inefficient manual processes.

Further, the sector produces hundreds of millions of tons of chemical waste and tens of billions in wasted costs annually. It is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, generating 48.55 metric tons of CO2 equivalent per $1 million of revenue, which is 55 percent higher than the automotive industry.

 At the same time, pharmaceutical companies also face the challenge of sourcing raw materials input, producing an equally vast amount of waste.

The company’s secret sauce is patented greener pharmaceutical production processes. DUDE CHEM’s approach is substantially more cost-effective and efficient than any other supplier on the global market, reducing waste by up to 70 percent with 40 percent less CO2 emissions than current best practices, while providing the highest quality at the same time.

According to Sonja Jost, co-founder and CEO of DUDE CHEM:

“Our ambition is to make Europe a major hub for chemical-pharmaceutical production again and secure critical infrastructure.

With our novel approach, we can demonstrate that by utilising the innovation power of Green Chemistry, we can significantly reduce costs as well.

We’re thrilled to contribute to a higher resilience of Western supply chains and support a sustainable reindustrialisation.”

The funding round was co-led by Vorwerk Ventures and b2venture with participation from Frontline, Borski Fund, Auxxo, and Push Ventures.

“DUDE CHEM uniquely combines deep chemical expertise with innovative technology to enhance environmentally friendly chemical production. We are happy to back such a skilled and passionate team,” said Dr Dominik Steinkühler, Partner at Vorwerk Ventures.

“Their proposition of repatriating supply chains at competitive costs while simultaneously diminishing the environmental footprint of chemical production is compelling.”

The company will use the funding to expand its team of experienced scientists and bring back the first product to secure the supply chain for one of Europe’s leading generic drug producers.

Lead image: DUDE CHEM. Photo: uncredited.