An Improved Lanthanum Catalyst System for Asymmetric Amination: Toward a Practical Asymmetric Synthesis of AS-3201 (Ranirestat)

A catalytic asymmetric amination with a lanthanum/amide complex was significantly improved. The use of lanthanum nitrate hydrate in place of lanthanum triisopropoxide made the process reproducible, scalable, and cost-effective. The development of a ternary catalytic system of La/ligand/amine was a key to high ee and catalytic turnover. A 100 g scale reaction was performed to showcase a practical synthesis of a key intermediate for AS-3201, a highly potent aldose reductase inhibitor.