We report a practical synthesis of PI3K inhibitor GDC-0941. The synthesis was achieved using a convergent approach starting from a thienopyrimidine intermediate through a sequence of formylation and reductive amination followed by Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling. Metalation of the thienopyrimidine intermediate involving the intermediacy of triarylmagnesiates allowed formylation under noncryogenic conditions to produce the corresponding aldehyde. We also investigated aminoalkylation via a benzotriazolyl-piperazine substrate as an alternative to the reductive amination route. We evaluated both palladium and nickel catalyzed processes for the borylation and Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling. Final deprotection and salt formation afforded the API.

The development of a redesigned and improved second-generation synthesis of the Nav1.7 inhibitor GDC-0276 based on experience gained from a fit-for-purpose first-generation synthesis will be described. The first-generation synthesis proceeded via a regioselective S N Ar reaction on the advanced starting material t-butyl 5-chloro-2,4-difluorobenzoate with 1adamantanemethanol. In the newly developed second-generation synthesis, the much improved regioselective S N Ar reaction was performed on the readily available starting material 1-chloro-2,4-difluorobenzene, followed by installation of the carboxylate group by electrophilic aromatic bromination and a palladium-catalyzed alkoxycarbonylation. A subsequent Suzuki−Miyaura cross-coupling reaction was then telescoped directly into a phase-transfer-catalyzed ester hydrolysis. Amidation of the resulting acid intermediate with 1-azetidine sulfamide in turn provided GDC-0276 in high overall yield and purity on a 100 kg scale.

A process leading to the multikilogram GMP synthesis of Chk1 inhibitor GDC-0425 (1) was developed. Highlights of the synthesis include protection of the pyrrole ring of a 1,7-diazacarbazole as propyl ethyl ether, an efficient Pd catalyzed cyanation of an aryl chloride, aryl ether formation by SNAr fluoride displacement, and development of a controlled crystallization providing the API with the required polymorphic form. The process delivered high-quality GDC-0425 with low levels of impurities and residual metals in five steps and 31% overall yield.

We report a practical and protecting-group-free synthesis amenable to produce multikilogram amounts of PI3K/mTOR inhibitor GDC-0980. The route employed metalation/formylation and reductive amination followed by a metal catalyzed Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling. The metalation was performed via triarylmagnesiate intermediates allowing formylation under noncryogenic conditions. 2-Picoline·BH3 was employed to replace Na(OAc)3BH in the reductive amination and to eliminate the use of molecular sieves. A concise one-step synthesis was developed for the selective monoamidation of piperazine with (S)-lactate to produce the piperazine lactamide starting material. The boronic acid was produced from 2-amino-5-bromopyrimidine in a one-step and protecting-group-free approach. The final crystallization in 1-propanol and water afforded the API in 59% overall yield in four steps and >99% purity by HPLC.

The concise early development route to the Nav1.7 inhibitor GDC-0310 is described. The active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) contains one stereocenter, which was obtained with high enantiomeric excess (>99:1) by using an SN2 displacement approach to connect two intermediates: a chiral benzyl alcohol and a piperidine. The synthesis of the piperidine building block proceeded via a regioselective SNAr reaction on 1-chloro-2,4-difluorobenzene by N-Boc-4-piperidinemethanol, followed by installation of the methyl ester group by electrophilic aromatic bromination and a palladium-catalyzed alkoxycarbonylation. A subsequent Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling reaction was then telescoped directly into cleavage of the Boc group to provide the advanced piperidine intermediate. The key feature of the synthesis is the highly selective SN2 displacement of the chiral mesylate of (R)-1-(3,5-dichlorophenyl)ethan-1-ol with the piperidine intermediate, followed by a chiral purity upgrade via the corresponding (1S)-(+)-camphorsulfonic acid salt. After standard hydrolysis of the methyl ester and CDI mediated amidation to couple the resulting acid with methanesulfonamide, enantiomerically pure GDC-0310 was obtained in high overall yield (37%) on a 6.5 kilogram scale.