FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a novel process for the preparation of dronedarone and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, to novel intermediary compounds used in this process and their preparation.

TECHNICAL BACKGROUND

Dronedarone, i.e. N- [2 -n-buty 1-3 - [4- [3 -(di-n-butylamino)propoxy] benzoyl] - 1 - benzofuran-5-yl]-methanesulfonamide, having the formula (I):

(I)

is a known drug for the treatment of arrhythmia (EP0471609).

There are some known processes for the preparation of dronedarone as follows:

In EP 0471609 the following scheme is disclosed for the preparation of dronedarone fProcess A1

0(CH ₂ ) ₃ N(nBu) ₂ The above mentioned patent description discloses some new intermediary compounds, too.

In WO 02/48078 the following scheme is disclosed for the preparation of dronedarone [Process B]:

The novelty of the process is based on the adaptation of the Friedel-Crafts reaction in the first step. The process and the intermediary compounds used for the preparation of the benzoylchloride compound of the first step are also disclosed in this document. The further steps of the process are identical with the final steps of the synthetic route disclosed in EP 0471609 [Process A], but in the claims the whole synthetic route is claimed, up to dronedarone.

In WO 02/48132 (Sanofi) the following reaction route is disclosed [Process C]. This method is the so called superconvergent route. In the first step of it 5-amino-2-butyl- benzofuran

is mesylated and the obtained 2-butyl-5-methanesulfonamido-benzofuran (in HC1 salt form) is further reacted in the next step as follows:

In this process the order of reaction steps are altered, the reduction and the methansulfonylation steps are performed at the beginning part of the procedure. Besides the reaction route for preparation of dronedarone, the starting material 2-butyl-5- methansulfonamido-benzofuran and its preparation are also claimed.

From among the mentioned procedures the first one [Process A] is the so called linear synthesis. In this way of procedure the different parts of the dronedarone are stepwise built up on the starting compound. This method is the least economical because the continuous step by step building of the chemical groups is performed on more and more complicated and expensive molecules, which raises the costs of the preparation.

Furthermore it comprises complicated and harmful reaction steps because aluminium chloride is used in the cleaving reaction of the methoxy group which makes the industrial feasibility more complicated.

In WO 02/48078 (Process B) a shorter synthetic route is disclosed which makes this process more economical, but its last reaction step remained the methansulfonylation reaction of the amino group. This reaction step (see the method described in example 6 of of WO 02/48078) is complicated and gives a low yield of only 61.6%. Pure product can be expected after purification using chromatographic column purification, which method is necessary because of the separation difficulties of the bis-methanesulfonylated product.

The process disclosed in WO 02/48132 (process C) is simpler and more economical taking into consideration the number of the reaction steps. Unfortunately, in the last reaction step rather impure dronedarone. HC1 (hydrochloride salt) is formed which is the obvious consequence of the presence of the dibutylamino group in the Friedel-Crafts reaction. According to Examples 3 and 4, the crude dronedarone hydrochloride salt is prepared with a yield of 90% which is further purified and finally the crude dronedarone base is produced with a yield of 86%. This base is reacted with hydrogen chloride gas dissolved in isopropanol which results in pure dronedarone hydrochloride salt. No yield is given for this reaction step. According to example 5 crude dronedarone hydrochloride salt is prepared with a yield of 90%, which is washed with water and reacted with hydrogen chloride gas dissolved in isopropanol, resulting dronedarone hydrochloride salt again. The quality of this product is not known. However, since neither the components used in the Friedel-Crafts reaction nor the resulting products and by-products are soluble in water, the washing step with water cannot result any purification apart from the removal of inorganic salts. There is another drawback of this process, namely, a dimesylated side-product is formed in the mesylation reaction of the 5-amino-2-butyl-benzofuran. The purification is carried out by crystallization which has a yield of 78.5 %.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel process for the preparation of dronedarone (I), starting from known and commercially available materials, applying simple, environmentally compatible reagents and solvents, to afford high overall yields and good purity of the product.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The main aspect of the invention is a process for preparation of dronedarone (I) and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof

[I]

which comprises oxidizing a compound of formula (VI), or a salt thereof

[VI]

and the obtained product is isolated and, if desired, converted into a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

We have surprisingly found that the formation of the oxo group in the last step by oxidation of an OH group which is formed by aldol condensation of substituted benzofuran and an aldehyde, has several benefits. Namely, the advantages of this process compared to the previously mentioned [A] and [B] processes are that the Friedel-Crafts acylation of 2-butyl-5- nitrobenzofuran can be avoided and the process does not use harmful reagents such as A1C1 ₃ or FeCl ₃ . Furthermore, the final oxidation step with hydrogen peroxide is a pure process with good isolated yield.

Further aspects of the invention include the compound of formula (VI) as a new compound, its salts and process for the preparation thereof (see below in the "Detailed description of the invention" part). DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Therefore the present invention relates to a process for the preparation of dronedarone and pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof. The whole process - starting from known compounds - reads as follows:

(a) a compound of formula (II) (N-(2-butyl-l-benzofuran-5- yl)methanesulfonamide) is reacted with the compound of formula (V) in the presence of strong acid or base catal st to obtain a compound of formula (VI):

(b) the compound of formula (VI) (N-(2-butyl-3-{[4-(3-dibutylamino-propoxy)- phenyl] -hydroxymethyl}-benzofuran-5-yl)-methanesulfonamide) is oxidized to obtain dronedarone (I),

and the obtained product is isolated and, if desired, converted into a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

The intermediate (VI) is a new compound and is isolated in pure solid form. Said compound, its salts and its preparation process [i.e. the above step (a)] form further objects of the invention.

Compound of formula (V) is known from J. Med. Chem. 1988, 31 (9) 1778. It can be prepared as described in the following:

a compound of formula (III) (4-hydroxybenzaldehyde) is reacted with a compound of formula (IV) (dibutylamino propylchloride HC1 salt)

and the obtained compound of formula (V) is isolated and, if desired, converted into a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

This reaction is typically carried out in a solvent or in a mixture of solvents. The solvent is typically selected from the group of ketones, esters and any mixtures thereof. Specific examples include, among others, methyl ethyl ketone or ethyl acetate.

The reaction is typically carried out in the presence of a base. Said base is typically selected from the group of alkali carbonates, e.g. potassium carbonate.

The reaction temperature may range from room temperature to the boiling point of the reaction mixture, typically a heating to 70-90°C is applied.

Compounds of formula (II) and (IV) are known from WO 02/48132 (Sanofi).

Compound of formula (III) is commercially available.

Step (a) of the process of the invention is carried out in the presence of a strong acid or base catalyst. Examples of the catalysts are trifluoracetic acid and butyl lithium.

Typically, step (a) is carried out in a solvent. The solvent may be an inert solvent (e.g. hexane, THF or MeTHF) or may serve as the catalyst (e.g. trifluoracetic acid).

The oxidation of step (b) is typically carried out in a solvent, in the presence of an oxidizing agent. The oxidizing agents can be for example sodium hypochlorite or hydrogen peroxide in aqueous acidic medium. If desired, the excess of the oxidizing agent (e.g. sodium hypochlorite) can be neutralized by using e.g. sodium bisulfite.

In the above reactions the temperature is chosen according to the general practice of a person skilled in organic chemistry. Applicable temperature values can be found in the examples.

The reaction steps are generally carried out under atmospheric pressure.

In the processes for the preparation of the intermediary compounds of formula (V) and (VI) the product is typically isolated as a base. If desired, the isolated base can be converted into a salt (acid addition salt) thereof, which is typically a pharmaceutically acceptable salt (possible acids are mentioned below). Theoretically the acid addition salt can be prepared directly if the relating acid is in the final reaction mixture from which the solid product is made (however, this way is not applied in case of these compounds where the base type form has practical importance).

The applicable acid for the preparation of pharmaceutically acceptable salts can be any inorganic or organic acid which forms an acid addition salt with the compound of general formulae (I), (V) and (VI). Exemplary acids which can form an acid addition salt are as follows: acetic acid, adipic acid, alginic acid, ascorbic acid, aspartic acid, benzoic acid, benzenesulfonic acid, boric acid, butyric acid, citric acid, ethanesulfonic acid, fumaric acid, hydrogen chloride, hydrogen bromide, hydrogen iodide, 2-hydroxyethanesulfonic acid, maleic acid, oxalic acid, methanesulfonic acid, nitric acid, salicylic acid, tartaric acid, sulfuric acid (forming sulfate or bisulfate anion), sulfonic acid (such as those mentioned herein), succinic acid, toluenesulfonic acid and the like. The hydrogen halogenide salts are typical, especially the hydrogen chloride salt.

Here it is mentioned that on the mesylate group of compounds of general formulae (I) and (VI) (see the "left side" of the molecules) a salt formation can be carried out (on the amide part of it) by a strong base, e.g. an alkaline hydroxide, typically by sodium hydroxide. However, these salts have less practical importance, but they are within the scope of salts. It means that the phrase "salts" embraces both the acid addition salts and the salts formed by bases (basic salts) in case of compounds of formula (I).

The following non-limiting examples further illustrate the invention.

In the examples the following HPLC method was applied for the determination of the purity of the reaction products:

Column: Waters Symmetry CI 8 4,6 x 150 mm, 5 μηι

Mobile phases:

Mobile phase A: 5 mM sodium phosphate buffer, pH=2.2

Mobile phase B: acetonitrile

Mobile phase C: methanol

Column temp: 25 °C

Auto sampler temp: 20 °C Gradient:

A (%) B (%) C (%)

0 65 30 5

20 40 50 10

45 15 75 10

47 65 30 5

57 65 30 5

Injection vol: 10

Flow rate: 1.5 mL/min

Run time: 57 min

Detection: 245 nm

PREPARATION

Preparation 1.

4-(3 -dibutylamino-propoxy)-benzaldehyde (V)

9.69 g of dibutylamino propylchloride HC1 salt (IV) (0.04 mol, 1 eq), 5 g of 4- hydroxybenzaldehyde (III) (0.04 mol, 1 eq), 17 g of potassium carbonate (0.12 mol, 3 eq) and 30 mL of MEK are added to the reaction flask. The suspension is heated to 80 °C and it is stirred for 10 hours at this temperature. Then the mixture is cooled to room temperature, 40 mL of water is added and the brown solution is stirred for 30 min. After phase separation the organic phase is washed with 15 mL of water and the solvent is evaporated to obtain 10.6 g of compound (V) as a yellowish-brown solid (89 %).

Purity by HPLC: 99.4 %.

M.p.: 78-80 °C.

1H NMR (CDC1 ₃ ): 9.20 (s, 1H); 7.85 (d, J=8.7 Hz, 2H); 7.12 (d, J=8.8 Hz, 2H); 2.65 (m, 6H); 1.90-0.94 (m, 18 H). EXAMPLES

Example 1.

N-(2-butyl-3- { [4-(3-dibutylamino-propoxy)-phenyl]-hydroxymethyl} -benzofuran-5- yl)-methanesulfonamide (VI)

2.67 g of N-(2-butyl-l-benzofuran-5-yl)methanesulfonamide (II) (0.01 mol, 1 eq) is dissolved in 35 mL of n-hexane and 7 mL of 2.5 M BuLi hexane solution is added in 30 min during which the temperature is kept at 20 °C. The reaction mixture is stirred for 2 hours at room temperature and then it is added to the solution of 4.37 g of 4-(3-dibutylamino- propoxy)-benzaldehyde (V) (0.015 mol, 1.5 eq) in 80 mL of THF. The reaction mixture is stirred at room temperature for 2 hours and then 40 mL of NH ₄ C1 solution is added. After 15 min of stirring, the product is extracted with 2x40 mL of diethyl ether. The organic phase is concentrated and the crude product is purified by column chromatography (spheric silica; eluent: toluene:MTBE:methanol=50:40: 10) to obtain 2.24 g of compound (VI) (40 %).

Purity by HPLC: 97.9 %.

Molecular weight (calc): 558.7747 Da; (measured): 558.7741 Da.

1H NMR (DMSO): 7.68 (d, J=8.5 Hz, 2H); 7.24 (m, 3H); 6.90 (d, J=8.5 Hz, 2H); 5.45 (s, 1H); 4.88 (s, 1H); 4.10 (t, J=6.1 Hz, 2H); 2.90 (s, 3H); 2.78 (t, J=7.0 Hz, 2H); 2.54 (t, J=7.0 Hz, 2H); 2.47 (s, 1H); 2.36 (t, J=7.0 Hz, 4H); 1.90 (m, 2H); 1.60-1.70 (m, 2H); 1.4-1.45 (m, 10 H); 0.8-0.9 (m, 9H).

Example 2.

N-(2-butyl-3-{[4-(3-dibutylamino-propoxy)-phenyl]-hydroxymet hyl}-benzofuran-5- yl)-methanesulfonamide (VI)

5.34 g of N-(2-butyl-l-benzofuran-5-yl)methanesulfonamide (II) (0.02 mol, 1 eq) is dissolved in 40 mL of trifluoroacetic acid and 8.7 g of 4-(3-dibutylamino-propoxy)- benzaldehyde (V) (0.03 mol, 1.5 eq) is added to the solution. The reaction mixture is heated to 40 °C and stirred for 10 hours at this temperature. The mixture is cooled to room temperature and 100 mL of water is added. After 15 min of stirring, the product is extracted with 2x50 mL of dichloromethane. The organic phase is concentrated and the crude product is purified by column chromatography (spheric silica; eluent: toluene:MTBE:methanol=50:40:10) to obtain 3.68 g of compound (VI) (33 %).

Purity by HPLC: 97.3 %.

The product is identical with the compound prepared in Example 1. Example 3.

N- [2-butyl-3 - [4- [3 -(dibutylamino)propoxyjbenzoyl] - 1 -benzofuran-5 -yl]- methanesulfonamide (I)

5.59 g of N-(2-butyl-3-{[4-(3-dibutylamino-propoxy)-phenyl]-hydroxymet hyl}- benzofuran-5-yl)-methanesulfonamide (VI) (0.01 mol, 1 eq) is dissolved in 30 mL of glacial acetic acid. 10 mL of 2.0 M aqueous sodium hypochlorite solution is added in 30 min. The mixture is stirred for 2 hours at room temperature and then 5 mL of sodium bisulfite solution is added. After 15 min of stirring, the mixture is poured to 100 mL of water and the product is extracted with 2x50 mL of dichloromethane. The solvent is evaporated and the crude product is purified by column chromatography (spheric silica; eluent: toluene:ethyl acetate=70:30) to obtain 1.56 g of dronedarone (I) (28 %).

Purity by HPLC: 99.3 %.

Ή NMR (DMSO): 7.72 (d, J=8.6 Hz, 2H); 7.27 (m, 3H); 6.90 (d, J=8.6 Hz, 2H); 5.52 (s, 1H); 4.07 (t, J=6.2 Hz, 2H); 2.91 (s, 3H); 2.78 (t, J=7.0 Hz, 2H); 2.55 (t, J=7.0 Hz, 2H); 2.39 (t, J=7.0 Hz, 4H); 1.90 (m, 2H); 1.60-1.70 (m, 2H); 1.4-1.45 (m, 10 H); 0.8-0.9 (m, 9H).

Example 4.

N-[2-butyl-3 - [4- [3 -(dibutylamino)propoxy] benzoyl] - 1 -benzofuran-5 -yl] - methanesulfonamide (I)

5.59 g of N-(2-butyl-3-{[4-(3-dibutylamino-propoxy)-phenyl]-hydroxymet hyl}- benzofuran-5-yl)-methanesulfonamide (VI) (0.01 mol, 1 eq) is dissolved in 40 mL of glacial acetic acid. 15 mL of 30 % hydrogen peroxide solution is added in 1 hour at room temperature and the reaction mixture is stirred for 36 hours. 80 mL of water is added to the reaction mixture and the product is extracted with 50 mL of dichloromethane. The organic phase is concentrated and the crude product is purified by column chromatography (spheric silica; eluent: toluene:ethyl acetate=70:30) to obtain 4.34 g of dronedarone (I) (78 %).

Purity by HPLC: 99.7 %.

The product is identical with the compound prepared in Example 3.