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The development of a synthetic process for (S,S)-reboxetine succinate, a candidate for the treatment of fibromylagia, is disclosed from initial scale-up to deliver material for registrational stability testing through to commercial route evaluation and subsequent nomination. This entailed evaluation of several alternative routes to result in what would have been a commercially attractive process for launch of the compound.

We report our results on the construction of a morpholine ring system from the corresponding epoxide and amino alcohol. From this study, we were able to convert a previous four-step synthesis into a more efficient two-step process.

From the deep: Vigulariol has been efficiently synthesized in 20 steps and 4.0 % overall yield from commercially available starting materials. Key to the synthesis was the use of copper(II) hexafluoroacetylacetate [Cu(hfacac)2] to form the oxabicyclo[6.2.1]undecene system (see scheme; TBS=tert-butyldimethylsilyl). The strategy should provide access to other members of the cladiellin family.

A short and stereoselective synthesis of (3R∗,4R∗,7R∗)-3,7-epoxy-4,8-dimethyl-8-nonen-4-olide, a natural product isolated from cured tobacco leaves, has been completed in six steps and 22% overall yield. A samarium(II) iodide mediated reductive cyclisation has been used to construct the functionalised tetrahydropyranol core and subsequent sequential stereoselective addition of methyllithium and lactonisation furnished the natural product.

The enantioselective total syntheses of 10 cladiellin natural products have been completed, starting from the known allylic alcohol (+)-14, which can be prepared in large quantities. The bridged tricyclic core of the cladiellins has been constructed via three ring-forming reactions: (i) an intramolecular reductive cyclization between an aldehyde and an unsaturated ester, mediated by samarium(II) iodide, to form a tetrahydropyranol; (ii) reaction of a metal carbenoid, generated from a diazo ketone, with an ether to produce an ylide-like intermediate that rearranges to produce E- or Z-oxabicyclo[6.2.1]-5-undecen-9-one; and (iii) a Diels-Alder cycloaddition reaction to construct the third ring found in the core structure of the cladiellins. The key ring-forming reaction, in which a diazo ketone is converted into a bridged bicyclic ether, can be tuned to give either of the isomeric oxabicyclo[6.2.1]-5-undecen-9-ones as the major product by switching from a copper to a rhodium catalyst and selecting the appropriate reaction conditions. The tricyclic products obtained from the three-step sequence involving the Diels-Alder cycloaddition reaction can be employed as advanced intermediates to prepare a wide range of cladiellin natural products.