Toward a Scalable Synthesis and Process for EMA401, Part II: Development and Scale-Up of a Pyridine- and Piperidine-Free Knoevenagel–Doebner Condensation

During route scouting for EMA401 ( 1 ), an angiotensin II type 2 antagonist, we identified the synthesis of key amino acid intermediate 2 via its cinnamic acid derivative 3 as a streamlined option. In general, cinnamic acids can be synthesized from the corresponding aldehydes by a Knoevenagel–Doebner condensation in pyridine with piperidine as an organocatalyst. We aimed to replace both of these reagents and found novel conditions involving toluene as the solvent and morpholine as the organocatalyst. Scale-up of the process allowed the production of 25 kg of cinnamic acid 3 that was of the quality required for process development of the subsequent phenylalanine ammonia lyase-catalyzed step. The modified conditions were found to be widely applicable to alternative aldehydes and thus are of relevance to practitioners of chemical scale-up.