Statins used in the treatment of dyslipidemias are top-selling drugs in the
world. Economical production of statins in industrial scale is challenging, because the
side chain of statins is a 3,5-dihydroxyacid derivative consisting of two asymmetric
centers. The most prominent methods for the preparation of the side chain are based on
biocatalysis and surveyed in this review.
Keywords: Statin, cardiovascular disease, biocatalysis, dehydrogenase, lipase,
haloalcohol dehalogenase, nirilase, aldolase.