Use of a Curtius Rearrangement as Part of the Multikilogram Manufacture of a Pyrazine Building Block

Abstract

Commercial route definition for a glucokinase activator called for a reevaluation of the synthesis and processes used to access multikilogram quantities of 2-amino-5-methylpyrazine. After consideration of different options, a variation of the Curtius rearrangement used by the medicinal chemistry route was selected for further development. The formation of an acyl azide for the Curtius rearrangement required a process safety control strategy to be put in place. The process developed was used to successfully deliver multikilogram quantities of 2-amino-5-methylpyrazine in an overall yield of 68%, starting from 5-methylpyrazine-2-carboxylic acid.