Photoredox Catalysis in a Complex Pharmaceutical Setting: Toward the Preparation of JAK2 Inhibitor LY2784544

We report a detailed investigation into the application of visible light-mediated photocatalysis to a challenging bond construction in a complex pharmaceutical target. The optimized reaction allowed the direct coupling of N-methylmorpholine with an unfunctionalized pyridazine in good yield and selectivity, and with high purity of the product isolated via crystallization. The reaction also facilitated the expedient synthesis of a range of analogues via the use of other commercially available N-methyl substituted tertiary amines, and therefore it represents an attractive tool for medicinal chemistry. Furthermore, a number of other interesting photoredox reactions were discovered during the course of this investigation, such as a formal methylation reaction via C-N bond cleavage, functionalization of C-H bonds alpha to amides, and a visible light-mediated iminium ion reduction.