Process Development of a Second Generation β-Amyloid-Cleaving Enzyme Inhibitor—Improving the Robustness of a Halogen-Metal Exchange Using Continuous Stirred-Tank Reactors

Process development for the synthesis of a second generation β-amyloid-cleaving enzyme (BACE1) inhibitor (1) is described. The lithiothiazole addition to the isoxazolene (5) under batch conditions was not scalable because of reaction gelling and anion instability. A continuous stirred-tank reactor flow process was developed and successfully executed on the 70 kg scale in multiple runs. In a head-to-head comparison between the continuous and batch processes, the former was clearly superior as it gave a higher yield (80 vs 63%) of the adduct (4) and better reaction control for handling the unstable lithiothiazole as a reaction intermediate. Subsequently, 4 underwent Pd-catalyzed amination with t-butyl carbamate, reductive cleavage of the N–O bond, thioamidine cyclization, and deprotection of the Boc group to provide hydropyranothiazine 2. The synthesis of 1 was completed by amidation with 5-(difluoromethoxy)picolinic acid and the successive deprotection of the benzamide group with either Silicycle-diamine or l-lysine.