UMaine reseach could help lower cost of prescription drugs

ORONO - New University of Maine research could help lower the cost of prescription drugs.

One of the main factors driving prices in pharmaceuticals such as cholesterol- lowering drugs and antibiotics, is the cost of production and materials.

Researchers at the University of Maine Forest Bioproducts Research Institute say they have discovered a sustainable method to produce the key ingredient in a broad range of pharmaceuticals which could help address high prescriptions costs in the U.S.

They studied a new, cost saving pathway to produce one of the crucial building blocks from glucose .

The researchers say glucose can be derived from things like wood chips, trees branches or other woody biomass.