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Weinreb Amide Approach to the Practical Synthesis of a Key Remdesivir Intermediate.

Yuanchao XieTianwen HuYan ZhangDaibao WeiWei ZhengFuqiang ZhuGuanghui TianHaji Akber AisaJingshan Shen
Published in: The Journal of organic chemistry (2021)
Currently, remdesivir is the first and only FDA-approved antiviral drug for COVID-19 treatment. Adequate supplies of remdesivir are highly warranted to cope with this global public health crisis. Herein, we report a Weinreb amide approach for preparing the key intermediate of remdesivir in the glycosylation step where overaddition side reactions are eliminated. Starting from 2,3,5-tri-O-benzyl-d-ribonolactone, the preferred route consisting of three sequential steps (Weinreb amidation, O-TMS protection, and Grignard addition) enables a high-yield (65%) synthesis of this intermediate at a kilogram scale. In particular, the undesirable PhMgCl used in previous methods was successfully replaced by MeMgBr. This approach proved to be suitable for the scalable production of the key remdesivir intermediate.
Keyphrases
  • public health
  • coronavirus disease
  • sars cov
  • global health
  • replacement therapy