[roenxi]

Although very interesting, this article isn't a great introduction because a critical part of the picture is missing - the availability of the inputs.

Sticking to simple stuff; mines produce iron at a rate measured in thousand-tonnes per hour with yields of potentially sub-30% compared to volume of earth moved. Ammonia and many acids are presumably measured in tonnes or kilograms produced per day. Low yields make the process-oriented sad, but what matters is absolute ability to produce; not yield.

All that doesn't take anything away from this article; it just makes it hard to interpret what 'royal pain to synthesize' means in practice. The process isn't basic chemistry; but that isn't really saying much.

[HarryHirsch]

Low yields make the process-oriented sad, but what matters is absolute ability to produce; not yield

That would be true if reagents, labour and plant equipment were free, but unfortunately they are not. Consequently you have these strange creatures called process chemists who shave steps of the discovery synthesis, increase the yield, and get around difficult reactions. It's really quite magical.

When it comes to bulk chemicals like vinyl acetate (produced at scales of kiloton per day) another consideration is waste. It cuts into profit twice: you lose product and you pay for disposal.

[alkonaut]

Exaxtly this. Are the inputs available and we can spend just a few tens of billions on building gigafactories to make this process parallel and controlled? Then it’s like making microchips from silicon or gold from ore. Terrible yield but cheap inputs and a scalable process.

If the inputs are expensive or the process can’t scale (to a billion doses in 12 months, say) then that’s worrying and perhaps indicates this isn’t a good candidate vaccine.

[alkonaut]

Edit: remdesivir is a therapeutic, not a vaccine, so it is useful in much smaller quantities than a vaccine.