Friday Fun: Backhanded Compliment

From a recent correction in OPRD, an odd bit of recognition.

In a 2014 paper, Burgard and Turconi, two Sanofi process chemists, laid out their vision for a high-yielding, industrial-scale semisynthesis of artemisinin. Somewhere along the way, a reference to another semisynthesis (Tetrahedron, 2013) got missed. Here's how the overlooked authors find themselves incorporated (emphasis mine):

"Bearing major breakthroughs in synthetic methodology, we are confident that this hybrid approach is far superior to a total synthesis and none of the many total syntheses published [insert ref here] appears to even approach providing a basis for a commercially viable process."

 Ouch. Them's fightin' words.

Happy Friday,
SAO

*One wonders if the first word should be "barring," as in, the authors allow that synthesis might one day catch up. As written, it's much more of a boast.