The scarcity of complex intermediates in pharmaceutical research motivates the pursuit of reaction optimization protocols on submilligram scales. We report here the development of an automated flow-based synthesis platform, designed from commercially available components, that integrates both rapid nanomole-scale reaction screening and micromole-scale synthesis into a single modular unit. This system was validated by exploring a diverse range of reaction variables in a Suzuki-Miyaura coupling on nanomole scale at elevated temperatures, generating liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry data points for 5760 reactions at a rate of >1500 reactions per 24 hours. Through multiple injections of the same segment, the system directly produced micromole quantities of desired material. The optimal conditions were also replicated in traditional flow and batch mode at 50- to 200-milligram scale to provide good to excellent yields.

Although crizotinib demonstrates robust efficacy in anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK)-positive non-small-cell lung carcinoma patients, progression during treatment eventually develops. Resistant patient samples revealed a variety of point mutations in the kinase domain of ALK, including the L1196M gatekeeper mutation. In addition, some patients progress due to cancer metastasis in the brain. Using structure-based drug design, lipophilic efficiency, and physical-property-based optimization, highly potent macrocyclic ALK inhibitors were prepared with good absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME), low propensity for p-glycoprotein 1-mediated efflux, and good passive permeability. These structurally unusual macrocyclic inhibitors were potent against wild-type ALK and clinically reported ALK kinase domain mutations. Significant synthetic challenges were overcome, utilizing novel transformations to enable the use of these macrocycles in drug discovery paradigms. This work led to the discovery of 8k (PF-06463922), combining broad-spectrum potency, central nervous system ADME, and a high degree of kinase selectivity.

The ACS Green Chemistry Institute® Pharmaceutical Roundtable has assembled an updated list of key research areas to highlight transformations and reaction media where more sustainable technologies would be most impactful.

Amide couplings are one of, if not the most common chemical reactions performed in the pharmaceutical industry. Many amide bonds are generated with the help of highly active peptide coupling reagents. These reagents have garnered wide use in the pharmaceutical industry, but many contain high-energy functional groups. As a result, significant time is spent assessing the thermal stability of these reagents before scale-up commences. This paper assesses the thermal stability of 45 common peptide coupling reagents by differential scanning calorimetry and accelerating rate calorimetry. Those compounds which flagged as potentially impact-sensitive or potentially explosive were tested by drop hammer and explosivity screening techniques. The data are presented in an effort to drive the development of these reactions toward the use of one of the more thermally stable reagents.