Biocatalytic approaches to a key building block for the anti-thrombotic agent ticagrelor

Three complementary biocatalytic routes were examined for the synthesis of the cyclopropyl amine (1R,2S)-2, which is a key building block for the anti-thrombotic agent ticagrelor 1. By employing either a ketoreductase, amidase or lipase biocatalyst, the key building blocks for synthesis of the amine 2 were obtained in 99.9, 92.5 and 46.3 ee, respectively.