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A total of 21 amino acid based ligands including hydroxy amide, thioamide, and hydroxamic acid functionalities, respectively, were combined with [Ru( p-cymene)Cl2]2 and [RhCp*Cl2]2, and used as catalysts for the asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of four different heteroaromatic ketones in 2-propanol. The reactions were performed on a Chemspeed automated high-throughput screening robotic platform. Optimal catalysts were identified for the individual heterocyclic substrate classes. Based on these results, the formal syntheses of the antidepressant drugs ( R)-fluoxetine and ( S)-duloxetine were conducted by using the found catalysts in the key reaction step, which results in high isolated yields (94 %) and excellent product enantioselectivities (>99 % ee) of the formed 1,3-amino alcohols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]