Incorporating Synthetic Accessibility in Drug Design: Predicting Reaction Yields of Suzuki Cross-Couplings by Leveraging AbbVie's 15-Year Parallel Library Data Set.

Despite the increased use of computational tools to supplement medicinal chemists' expertise and intuition in drug design, predicting synthetic yields in medicinal chemistry endeavors remains an unsolved challenge. Existing design workflows could profoundly benefit from reaction yield prediction, as precious material waste could be reduced, and a greater number of relevant compounds could be delivered to advance the design, make, test, analyze (DMTA) cycle. In this work, we detail the evaluation of AbbVie's medicinal chemistry library data set to build machine learning models for the prediction of Suzuki coupling reaction yields. The combination of density functional theory (DFT)-derived features and Morgan fingerprints was identified to perform better than one-hot encoded baseline modeling, furnishing encouraging results. Overall, we observe modest generalization to unseen reactant structures within the 15-year retrospective library data set. Additionally, we compare predictions made by the model to those made by expert medicinal chemists, finding that the model can often predict both reaction success and reaction yields with greater accuracy. Finally, we demonstrate the application of this approach to suggest structurally and electronically similar building blocks to replace those predicted or observed to be unsuccessful prior to or after synthesis, respectively. The yield prediction model was used to select similar monomers predicted to have higher yields, resulting in greater synthesis efficiency of relevant drug-like molecules.

At the Speed of Light: The Systematic Implementation of Photoredox Cross-Coupling Reactions for Medicinal Chemistry Research.

The adoption of new and emerging techniques in organic synthesis is essential to promote innovation in drug discovery. In this Perspective, we detail the strategy we used for the systematic deployment of photoredox-mediated, metal-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions in AbbVie's medicinal chemistry organization, focusing on topics such as assessment, evaluation, implementation, and accessibility. The comprehensive evaluation of photoredox reaction setups and published methods will be discussed, along with internal efforts to build expertise and photoredox high-throughput experimentation capabilities. We also highlight AbbVie's academic-industry collaborations in this field that have been leveraged to develop new synthetic strategies, along with discussing the internal adoption of photoredox cross-coupling reactions. The work described herein has culminated in robust photocatalysis and cross-coupling capabilities which are viewed as key platforms for medicinal chemistry research at AbbVie.

A four-component reaction to access 3,3-disubstituted indolines via the palladium-norbornene-catalyzed ortho amination/ipso conjunctive coupling.

As an important class of multicomponent reactions, the palladium/norbornene (Pd/NBE) cooperative catalysis has been mainly restricted to the coupling of an aryl halide, an electrophile and a nucleophile. Here, we report the development of a Pd/NBE-catalyzed four-component reaction, which involves ortho C-H amination/ipso conjunctive coupling using an alkene and an external nucleophile. The use of alkene-tethered nitrogen electrophiles provides a rapid and modular synthesis of 3,3-disubstituted indolines from readily available aryl iodides. The reaction exhibits broad functional group tolerance, and its utility is exemplified in a streamlined formal synthesis of a rhodamine dye. Preliminary results of the asymmetric version of this reaction have also been obtained.

Di(2-picolyl)amines as Modular and Robust Ligands for Nickel-Catalyzed C(sp2)-C(sp3) Cross-Electrophile Coupling.

Ni-catalyzed aryl-alkyl coupling reactions are reliant on using a limited set of commercially available bidentate nitrogenous ligands to enable the reaction, because noncommercial analogues usually entail challenging syntheses. In this work, di(2-picolyl)amines (DPAs) are explored as an alternative modular ligand class for the nickel-catalyzed aryl-alkyl cross-electrophile coupling. Novel DPA ligands were synthesized directly from inexpensive amine and pyridine building blocks in a single step. This facile synthetic route enabled the parallel synthesis of DPA ligands with varied steric and electronic properties. From this collection of ligands, a few robust ligands for C(sp2)-C(sp3) cross-electrophile coupling were identified and tested in the cross-coupling of a range of diverse molecules, including model examples for late-stage functionalization.

Synthesis of C3,C4-Disubstituted Indoles via the Palladium/Norbornene-Catalyzed ortho-Amination/ipso-Heck Cyclization.

Herein, we report the synthesis of C3,C4-disubstituted indoles via the palladium/norbornene cooperative catalysis. Utilizing N-benzoyloxy allylamines as the coupling partner, a cascade process involving ortho-amination and ipso-Heck cyclization takes place with ortho-substituted aryl iodides to afford diverse indole products. The reaction exhibits good functional group tolerance, in addition to tolerating a removable protecting group on the indole nitrogen. Divergent reactivity has been observed using the allylamine coupling partner containing more substituted olefins. Construction of the core framework of mitomycin has also been attempted with this strategy.

Synthesis of indoles, indolines, and carbazoles via palladium-catalyzed C─H activation.

The construction of indole, indoline, and carbazole heterocycles has been of significant interest in the synthetic community over the last century due to their prevalence in natural products and other biologically active compounds. In particular for indoles, many conventional methods developed to date require highly pre-functionalized arene precursors, diminishing their attractiveness as "green" syntheses. Carbon-hydrogen bond activation, on the other hand, presents an elegant solution to this problem and can achieve the construction of indoles and their derivatives from comparatively simpler arene precursors. In this short review, we discuss various approaches for preparing indoles, indolines, and carbazoles via palladium-catalyzed C─H bond activation, highlighting their reaction mechanisms and synthetic applications.

Unexpected ortho-Heck Reaction under the Catellani Conditions.

An unexpected ortho-Heck reaction has been discovered during the study of palladium/norbornene (Pd/NBE) catalysis. Under the Catellani reaction conditions in the presence of lithium salts and olefins, Heck coupling takes place at the ortho position instead of the commonly observed ipso position; meanwhile, a norbornyl group is introduced at the arene ipso position. Systematic deuterium labeling and crossover experiments suggest an unusual 1,4-palladium migration/intramolecular hydrogen transfer pathway. The knowledge gained in this study could provide insights for the future development of the Pd/NBE catalysis.

Direct ß-Alkenylation of Ketones via Pd-Catalyzed Redox Cascade.

A direct ß-alkenylation of simple ketones with alkenyl bromides is reported via a Pd-catalyzed redox cascade strategy. The reaction is redox neutral and directing-group-free, in the absence of strong acids or bases. Both cyclic and linear ketones are suitable substrates, and various alkenyl bromides can be coupled. The resulting ß-alkenyl ketones are readily derivatized through diverse alkene functionalization.

Platinum-Catalyzed Desaturation of Lactams, Ketones, and Lactones.

The development of a general platinum-catalyzed desaturation of N-protected lactams, ketones, and lactones to their conjugated α,ß-unsaturated counterparts is reported. The reaction operates under mildly acidic conditions at room temperature or 50 °C. It is scalable and tolerates a wide range of functional groups. The complementary reactivity to the palladium-catalyzed desaturation is demonstrated in the efficient conversion of iodide, bromide, and sulfur-containing substrates.