A four-step synthesis of the indanone core of belzutifan (MK-6482) is described. This route starts from the commodity raw material dihydrocoumarin and was successfully demonstrated on a large scale to produce indanone 11 in the synthesis of belzutifan, an FDA-approved first-in-class therapy for the treatment of patients with certain types of Von Hippel–Lindau disease-associated tumors.

Herein we describe a novel, visible light-induced tandem radical addition-cyclization of alkenyl aldehydes with α-bromocarbonyl compounds. A set of cyclic ketones, including indanones, cyclopentenones, 3,4-dihydronaphthalen-1(2H)-ones, and chroman-4-ones, are synthesized at room temperature with high efficiency and good functional group compatibility. It represents the first report on the catalytic 1,2-acylalkylation of unactivated alkenes.

A visible-light-induced 1,1-hydrofluoroalkylation of alkynes with a concomitant vicinal acylation is developed using tetrahydrofuran (THF) as the hydrogen atom source. Various fluoroalkylated cyclic ketones, such as indanones, chroman-4-ones, 2,3-dihydroquinolin-4­(1H)-ones, and 3,4-dihydronaphthalen-1­(2H)-ones, can be efficiently synthesized with excellent trans-diastereoselectivity. The reaction represents the first example of 1,1-hydrofluoroalkylation of alkynes, thus providing a novel method for the construction of fluoroalkanes.

Copper-catalyzed cascade annulation of γ,δ-unsaturated α-bromocarbonyls with biaryl or (Z)-arylvinylacetylenes is presented, giving an expeditious access to dibenzocycloheptanes and related compounds in moderate to high yields. It provides a novel method for the one-pot synthesis of cycloheptane and cycloheptene-fused polycyclic scaffolds featuring a rare 7-endo-trig radical cyclization.