The biomass-derived platform chemical 5-(chloromethyl)furfural is converted into the blockbuster antiulcer drug ranitidine (Zantac) in four steps with an overall 68% isolated yield.Ranitidine 1, sold under the trade name Zantac, is a histamine H 2 -receptor antagonist which is used in the management of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and the treatment of gastric and duodenal ulcers. It was introduced by Glaxo (now GlaxoSmithKline) in 1981 and by 1986 had total sales in excess of $1 billion, the first-ever drug to achieve this milestone. 1 Although Zantac has been largely surplanted as a prescription drug by modern proton pump inhibitors such as omeprazole (Prilosec) and esomeprazole (Nexium), it has recently been reformulated for over-the-counter sales as a general antacid preparation.The synthesis of ranitidine 1 has been described for the most part in the patent literature, and has been the subject of multiple reviews. 2-5 Given the commercial interest in this molecule, all of the synthetically reasonable disconnections have been probed in one way or another, but perhaps the most straightforward approach up to now remains that which was described in the original patent (Scheme 1). 6 This route starts from furfuryl alcohol 3, which can be sourced from the reduction Scheme 1 Reagents a. H 2 , cat.; b. CH 2 O, Me 2 NH, H + cat.; c. HSCH 2 CH 2 NH 2 , aq. HCl; d. 7.