An efficient, economical and large-scale convergent synthesis of epidermal growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitors gefitinib (1, Iressa) and erlotinib (2, Tarceva) approved by U.S. FDA for the treatment of non-small-cell lung cancer is described. The formation of 4-anilinoquinazolines are achieved in a simple one-pot reaction of suitable formamidine intermediates and substituted anilines involving Dimroth rearrangement, thereby avoiding the need to make quinazolin-4(3H)-one intermediates, which require a large experimental inputs. Using this process, we have produced drug candidates 1 with overall yield of 66% from 4-methoxy-5-[3-(4-morpholinyl) propoxy]-2-nitrobenzonitrile (3) and 2 with 63% from 4,5-bis(2-methoxyethoxy)-2-nitrobenzonitrile (6) on a multigram scale.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.