Nucleoside analogs are ubiquitous in nature and are critical component of life-saving therapies used in the treatment of cancer and viral diseases.  Despite their widespread use and commercial value, the state-of-the-art methods for their preparation in drug discovery, drug development and eventual commercialization are lacking and remain a poorly solved problem in organic synthesis. In addition to posing synthetic challenges, custom nucleoside total synthesis presents several challenges with respect to green and sustainable chemistry, where current methods largely rely on chiral pool feedstocks and protecting group chemistry. We have developed a suite of novel methods for the synthesis and scale-up of nucleosides, and these efforts have culminated many novel methods leading to aspirational syntheses from commodity chemicals.  Examples from Merck's pipeline, including Molnupiravir, will be highlighted.

Redefining of nucleoside analog synthesis

ACS Spring 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.