Patent ID: 7300771

Claim:
A process for the production of a 19-nor-10β-carboxylic acid of Formula II wherein: R 1 is selected from the group consisting of H, OH, R—C(O)O—, CH 2 OCH 3 , and CH 3 CH(OR)O—; R is a C 1 -C 8 alkyl group; R 2 is selected from H, F, Cl, Br, and CH 3 —; R 3 is H; R 4 is —CH 2 OH or —CH 3 , by fungal oxidation of a 6-substituted-Δ6-pregnane of Formula I wherein R 1 is selected from the group consisting of H, OH, R—C(O)O—, CH 2 OCH 3 , and CH 3 CH(OR)O—; R is a C 1 -C 8 alkyl group; R 2 is selected from H, F, Cl, Br, and CH 3 —; R 3 is H; R 4 is —CH 2 OH or —CH 3 , R 5 is —CHO, —CH 2 OH or CH 3 comprising: contacting a 6-substituted-Δ6-pregnane of Formula I with a bioconversion medium containing a species of the genus Nigrospora capable of oxidizing the 19 carbon of a 6-substituted-Δ 6 -pregnane of Formula I, wherein the bioconversion medium contains about 0.1 mL/L to about 4 mL/L of a non-ionic detergent and about 5 g/L to about 60 g/L of a carbon source selected from the groups consisting of monosaccharides, disaccharides, trisaccharides, hydrolyzed polysaccharides, and sugar alcohols, wherein the 6-substituted-Δ6-pregnane is present in the bioconversion medium at a concentration of greater than about 4 g/L.