At Sunthetics, we’re excited to share a major milestone that highlights the power of machine learning in transforming pharmaceutical R&D. Merck, in collaboration with Sunthetics, has been awarded the 2025 Data Science and Modeling for Green Chemistry Award at the 29th Annual ACS Green Chemistry & Engineering Conference for our joint work on Algorithmic Process Optimization (APO).

What This Award Means

This award isn’t just a trophy—it’s validation of a shared vision: that advanced data science can drive sustainable innovation in pharma and chemical development. The American Chemical Society (ACS) recognized APO for its unique ability to integrate Bayesian Optimization and active learning into pharmaceutical process development, creating greener, more efficient, and more scalable experimentation frameworks.

Receiving this recognition at a high-impact forum like ACS GC&E affirms that the future of green chemistry lies in embracing intelligent, data-driven methodologies—and it’s a future Sunthetics is proud to help build.

The Innovation: What is Algorithmic Process Optimization (APO)?

APO is a proprietary machine learning platform developed by Sunthetics and co-developed with Merck to support complex optimization challenges in pharmaceutical R&D. Designed to handle numeric, discrete, and mixed-integer problems with 11+ input parameters, APO replaces traditional Design of Experiments (DOE) with a smarter, faster, and more sustainable alternative.

APO Enables Teams To:

• Reduce hazardous reagents and material waste
• Optimize resource usage and cost-efficiency
• Solve multi-objective problems at scale
• Accelerate development timelines through ML-guided iteration

The technology sits at the intersection of Bayesian Optimization, chemical engineering, and machine learning, empowering scientists to generate high-quality insights with fewer experiments—reducing both time and environmental impact.

A Shared Commitment to Sustainable Science

At Sunthetics, one of our core missions is to accelerate R&D while lowering the cost and environmental footprint of innovation. Collaborating with partners like Merck allows us to deploy scalable, impactful tools that directly contribute to a cleaner, more efficient scientific future.

This award is not just a celebration of technical excellence—it’s a moment to reflect on our values:

• Sustainability as a default, not an afterthought
• AI as an enabler of scientific creativity
• Partnership as the path to transformation
  
  

We’re deeply proud of our collaborative team, spanning experts from both Merck and Sunthetics, who continue to push boundaries in the name of smarter, greener science.

Recognizing the Team Behind the Breakthrough

This recognition was made possible by the dedication, creativity, and deep expertise of a cross-functional team. We’d like to thank and congratulate:

Kevin Stone, Daniela E. Blanco, Kaitlyn Brinza, Melodie Christensen, Shane Grosser, Yasser Khelalef, Abderrahman Lazizi, Andy Liaw, Spencer McMinn, Rafik Oulbsir, Victor Schultz, Ethan Tenison, Ajit Vikram, and Yuting Xu.

What’s Next

This is just the beginning. As we continue to scale APO and other machine learning solutions across the pharmaceutical, chemical, and materials sectors, we remain laser-focused on one thing: delivering measurable impact through innovation.

If you’re ready to rethink how your R&D teams approach experimentation, sustainability, and speed to market—we’re here to help.

👉 Learn more about APO and our work with Merck