Ozanimod represents
a recently developed, promising active pharmaceutical
ingredient (API) molecule in combating multiple sclerosis. Addressing
the goal of a scalable, economically attractive, and technically feasible
process for the manufacture of this drug, a novel alternative synthetic
approach toward (S)-4-cyano-1-aminoindane as a chiral
key intermediate for ozanimod has been developed. The total synthesis
of this intermediate is based on the utilization of naphthalene as
a readily accessible, economically attractive, and thus favorable
petrochemical starting material. At first, naphthalene is transformed
into 4-carboxy-indanone within a four-step process by means of an
initial Birch reduction, followed by an isomerization of the CC
double bond, oxidative CC cleavage, and intramolecular Friedel–Crafts
acylation. The transformation of the 4-carboxy-indanone into (S)-4-cyano-1-aminoindane then represents the key step for
introducing the chirality and the desired absolute S configuration.
When evaluating complementary biocatalytic approaches based on the
use of a lipase and transaminase, respectively, the combination of
a chemical reductive amination of the 4-carboxyindanone followed by
a subsequent lipase-catalyzed resolution turned out to be the most
efficient route, leading to the desired key intermediate (S)-4-cyano-1-aminoindane in satisfactory yield and with
excellent enantiomeric excess of 99%.