FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a novel method for the synthesis of 2,4-dichloro-5-trifluoromethyl- pyrimidine useful as intermediate in the manufacture of pharmaceutically active ingredients.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

2,4-dichloro-5-trifluoromethyl-pyrimidine (5-TFP) is an important intermediate for the manufacture of pharmaceutically active ingredients, for example for the treatment of cancer as described in WO 2010/0551 17.

The known chemical syntheses of this intermediate offer only limited accessability of 5-TFP and all face severe drawbacks that do not allow for a sustainable and environmentally friendly supply with this important intermediate. Therefore there was a need to develop a novel approach to this compound. This disclosure describes a novel, environmentally benign and sustainable process for the manufacture of 5-TFP.

The known routes to 5-TFP are described in the following:

5-TFP can be prepared by a two-step process using gaseous CF ₃ I as a trifluoromethylation reagent (scheme 1 ) via trifluoromethyl uracil (5-TFU) as described in WO 2007/055170.

Scheme 1. Trifluoromethylation with CF ₃ I (variant 1 )

The disadvantage of this process is the difficult handling of the toxic and expensive gaseous reagent. Additionally, this process has to be run in evironmentally inappropiate solvents like dimethylsulfoxide. A further route of synthesis is disclosed in CN 101955466. Therein, the combination of H2SO4 and FeS0 ₄ of step 1 in variant 1 as depicted in scheme 1 above is replaced by HBF ₄ /Fe2(S0 ₄ ) ₃ (scheme 2), however, all main disadvantages of that route remain.

Scheme 2. Trifluoromethylation with CF ₃ I (variant 2 for trifluoromethylation step)

An alternative process to 5-trifluoromethyl-uracil (5-TFU) as a precursor of 5-TFP is revealed in US patent 5,352,787 describing a four-step access starting from 5-methyl- uracil (scheme 3). This process suffers from the necessity to use large amounts of two highly toxic and corrosive gases (Cl ₂ and HF), which make this process inappropriate for normal pharmaceutical manufacturers and environmentally and from a safety point of view unfavorable.

Scheme 3. Alternative access to 5-trifluoromethyl-uracil Step l CI^N^CI Step 2 CI^N^CI

5-TFU

Recently LANGLOIS reagent (sodium trifluoromethanesulfinate, CF ₃ S0 ₂ Na) was successfully used as reagent in the trifluoromethylation reaction of uracil (PNAS 2077,1441 1 -14415) under biphasic conditions.

Scheme 4. LANGLOIS reagent protocol

However, mixtures of chlorinated organic solvent with water or sulfoxides with water are used. These conditions are unsuitable for larger scale application because of the uncontrollable exothermic nature of the reaction, the vigorous stirring needed and the large amounts of chlorinated organic wastes. In addition, the inventors identified a new unknown impurity when a scaled-up prior art trifluoromethylation process was applied to uracil causing additional need for purification. As additional drawbacks inconsistent yields with incomplete conversion of starting material, long reaction times, accumulation of peroxides (also due to high number of equivalents needed) and the need to use lab grade (= expensive) CF ₃ S0 ₂ Na instead of commercial grade (= cheap; usually only 50 - 70 % pure) CF ₃ S0 ₂ Na were identified which make the prior art process not feasible for an economically competitive way to produce larger amounts of the title compound.

Thus, it was necessary to investigate a potential new method to address these drawbacks.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

After careful investigation of the above prior art methods, the CF ₃ transfer reaction using LANGLOIS reagent as shown in scheme 4 was further elaborated:

First of all, when applying the standard procedure disclosed in PNAS to uracil (DCM/water 2:1 , 0 °C with lab grade CF ₃ S0 ₂ Na) complete conversion of starting material was reached after 22 h and 5-TFU was obtained in a yield of 55 % (crude product; comparative example 1 ). A previously unknown impurity with high polarity was found by HPLC during the reaction which might cause problems in any downstream steps.

When this reaction is run in DCM or DMSO on larger scale, a large volume of organic waste is generated. Additionally, the use of organic peroxides in an organic medium poses very high safety constrains since accumulation of these peroxides may lead to explosive mixtures. Thus, a transfer of the trifluoromethylation step to aqueous medium and use of lower amounts of peroxides is desirable and allows for a large reduction of organic waste and safer running conditions, since in water the use of organic peroxides is much safer than in organic media and the exotherm reaction can be controlled more easily.

However, when the standard procedure was adapted to use water only (water, 0 °C with lab grade CF ₃ S0 ₂ Na) the obtained results worsened significantly. After 24 h the conversion rate only reached 36 % (comparative example 2) making this method completely useless. This shows that as far as water-soluble uracil is concerned a simple shift to water (in contrast to the disclosure of PNAS) is not possible on a large scale.

It was very surprising to find out that the results obtained in water could be significanly improved when the reaction mixture is kept at a temperature of about 40-100 °C after the addition of an aqueous solution of the organic peroxide. Reaction time to full conversion can be reduced, total amount of organic peroxide can be reduced, reasonable yields are obtained and build-up of peroxides can be prevented.

Thus, the present invention relates to a method for preparing 5-trifluoromethyl-uracil (5- TFU) comprising

a) trifluoromethylation of uracil with sodium trifluoromethanesulfinate (CF ₃ S0 ₂ Na) and organic peroxide in water to form 5-trifluoromethyluracil (5-TFU), wherein the reaction temperature after the addition of an aqueous solution of organic peroxide is kept in a range of about 40-100 °C.

In addition, the present invention relates to a method for preparing 2,4-dichloro-5- trifluoromethyl-pyrimidine (5-TFP) comprising

a) trifluoromethylation of uracil with sodium trifluoromethanesulfinate (CF ₃ S0 ₂ Na) and organic peroxide in water to form 5-trifluoromethyluracil (5-TFU), wherein the reaction temperature after the addition of an aqueous solution of organic peroxide is kept in a range of about 40-100 °C, and

b) reacting 5-trifluoromethyluracil (5-TFU) with phosphoryl chloride (POCI ₃ ) to form 2,4- dichloro-5-trifluoromethyl-pyrimidine (5-TFP).

Scheme 5. Methods according to the invention

uracil ^a ) 5-TFU 5-TFP Uracil required as the starting material is commercially available.

The first step according to the method is the trifluoromethylation of uracil with sodium trifluoromethanesulfinate (CF ₃ S0 ₂ Na) and organic peroxide, e.g. ie f-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP), in water and optionally a transition metal catalyst, e.g. FeS0 ₄ .

Sodium trifluoromethanesulfinate (CF ₃ S0 ₂ Na) which is also called LANGLOIS reagent, is a safely and easily handable solid and commercially available (usually 50-70 % pure).

Commercially available 70 % aqueous solution of ie f-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) is a suitable oxidant for the trifluoromethylation.

All the reagents used in the trifluoromethylation step are soluble in water being a good solvent for this step.

The strongly exothermic nature of this method can be well controlled by adjusting the dosing rate of organic peroxide, e.g. ie/f-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP), and/or addition of a transition metal catalyst.

THF, 2-MeTHF, ethyl acetate and isopropyl acetate can be used as extraction solvents in the workup of the reaction step a). THF and 2-MeTHF have advantages in terms of solubility, ethyl acetate and isopropyl acetate however yield slightly higher quality of the produced intermediate (5-TFU).

Alternatively, 5-TFU can be obtained from the reaction mixture by concentration of the aqueous phase and filtration of the precipitate.

If necessary, the intermediate 5-TFU can be further purified by recrystallization from water or isopropyl acetate.

In one embodiment of the methods the sodium trifluoromethanesulfinate (CF ₃ S0 ₂ Na) used in step a) has a commercial grade of equal to or below 80 % sodium trifluoromethanesulfinate (CF ₃ S0 ₂ Na).

In one embodiment of the methods the sodium trifluoromethanesulfinate (CF ₃ S0 ₂ Na) used in step a) has a commercial grade of about 50-70 % sodium trifluoromethanesulfinate (CF ₃ S0 ₂ Na).

In a further embodiment of the methods the commercial grade sodium trifluoromethanesulfinate (CF ₃ S0 ₂ Na) is pre-treated before use in step a). In a further embodiment of the methods the commercial grade sodium trifluoromethanesulfinate (CF ₃ S0 ₂ Na) is pre-treated before use in step a) by slurrying in ethyl acetate, filtration and concentration.

In a further embodiment of the methods the commercial grade sodium trifluoromethanesulfinate (CF ₃ S0 ₂ Na) is pre-treated before use in step a) by slurrying the commercial grade sodium trifluoromethanesulfinate (CF ₃ S0 ₂ Na) in ethyl acetate, heating of the resulting suspension to about 40-50 °C, stirring at this temperature, filtering of the suspension, adding water to the filtrate and removing substantially all ethyl acetate.

One method of pre-treatment of sodium trifluoromethanesulfinate (CF ₃ S0 ₂ Na) when used as reagent is known from US 201 1/0034530. However, the purification method used therein is much more laborious and the type of reaction the reagent is used for is different (sulfinylation).

The pre-treatment of commercial grade sodium trifluoromethanesulfinate (CF ₃ S0 ₂ Na, 50-70 % pure) does not only allow the use of this cheap ingredient but also has significant advantages in terms of possible yields. When commercial grade sodium trifluoromethanesulfinate (CF ₃ S0 ₂ Na) is used without pre-treatment the yields which could be obtained turned out to be inconsistent and tended to result in lower yields (comparative example 3).

In a further embodiment of the methods the organic peroxide used in step a) is fe/f-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP), preferably as an aqueous solution.

In a further embodiment of the methods the organic peroxide used in step a) is ie f-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP), wherein the aqueous solution of ie f-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) has a content of about 70 % ie/f-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP).

In a further embodiment of the methods the organic peroxide used in step a) is continuously dosed to the reaction mixture.

In a further embodiment of the methods the organic peroxide used in step a) is used in an amount of about 4 eq. in relation to uracil.

In a further embodiment of the methods the addition rate of the organic peroxide used in step a) is controlled to keep the reaction temperature in a range of about 45-75 °C, preferably 45-55 °C, during addition. The control of the addition rate helps to slow the dosage of the organic peroxide and the rate of peroxide decay can be carefully controlled in order to run the method without risking accumulation of peroxides.

In a further embodiment of the methods the reaction temperature in step a) is kept in a range of about 40-100 °C after the addition of an aqueous solution of organic peroxide until the ratio of uracil:5-trifluoromethyl-uracil is equal to or below 3:97.

In a further embodiment of the methods the reaction temperature in step a) is kept in a range of about 40-80 °C after the addition of an aqueous solution of organic peroxide.

In a further embodiment of the methods the reaction temperature in step a) is kept in a range of about 45-70 °C after the addition of an aqueous solution of organic peroxide.

In a further embodiment of the methods the reaction temperature in step a) is kept in a range of about 60-70 °C after the addition of an aqueous solution of organic peroxide.

In a further embodiment of the methods the reaction temperature in step a) is kept in a range of about 45-60 °C after the addition of an aqueous solution of organic peroxide. In a further embodiment of the methods the reaction in step a) is carried out in the presence of a transition metal catalyst.

In a further embodiment of the methods the reaction in step a) is carried out in the presence of FeS0 ₄ as catalyst.

The optional addition of a transition metal catalyst, e.g. FeS0 ₄ , further reduces the risk of peroxide accumulation. Without this catalyst, the reaction also works, however, peroxide accumulation may render severe issues of process safety. Therefore the revealed method includes, but does not necessitate, the use of for example a FeS0 ₄ additive for large scale production.

In a further embodiment of the methods the reaction in step a) is carried out in the presence of silica gel.

The addition of silica gel as HF absorber has the advantage of preventing HF corrosion of the glass lining (HF is formed in the reaction) and of further improving process safety.

In a further embodiment of the methods a solvent selected from among THF, 2-MeTHF, ethyl acetate and isopropyl acetate is used to extract 5-TFU obtained in reaction step a). In a further embodiment of the methods 5-TFU obtained in reaction step a) is isolated without extraction by concentration of the aqueous phase and filtration.

In a further embodiment of the method the intermediate 5-TFU obtained in step a) is chlorinated with or without isolation of 5-TFU.

In a further embodiment of the method the intermediate 5-TFU obtained in step a) is chlorinated with or without isolation of 5-TFU to 5-TFP in step b) using a mixture of phosphoric acid (H ₃ P0 ₄ ), phosphoryl chloride (POCI ₃ ) and diisopropylethyl amine (DIPEA).

Examples

Example 1 : Preparation of 5-trifluoromethyluracil (5-TFU)

Pretreatment of commercial grade sodium trifluoromethanesulfinate (CF ₃ S0 ₂ Na)

A 1 L jacket reactor (reactor A) is charged with CF ₃ S0 ₂ Na (125.0 g, ~ 65 % purity, ~ 0.52 mol, 2.89 eq.) followed by ethyl acetate (625.0 g). The resulting suspension is heated to 40-50 °C and kept stirring at this temperature for 1 h. The suspension is filtered with the aid of Celite ^® (5.0 g) at 30-50 °C and the cake is washed with ethyl acetate (50 g). The combined filtrate is transferred to a 500 mL jacket reactor (reactor B) and concentrated to about 80-100 mL (jacket temperature 70 °C/100-500 mbar). Water (100 mL) is added into the mixture. The resulting biphasic mixture is concentrated to about 90 mL (jacket temperature 70 °C/100-500 mbar) to remove residual ethyl acetate. Trifluoromethylation

Uracil (20.0 g, 0.18 mol, 1 .0 eq.), silica gel (4.0 g), ferrous sulfate (FeS0 ₄ ) heptahydrate (2.0 g, 0.007 mol, 0.04 eq.) and water (100.0 mL) are charged into reactor B. The resulting suspension is heated to 45-50 °C, ie f-butyl hydroperoxide (91 .8 g, 0.71 mol, 70 % aqueous solution, 3.9 eq.) is added slowly into the mixture through an addition funnel while keeping the internal temperature between 45-55 °C during addition by controlling the addition rate and jacket reactor in about 30 min. A strong exotherm together with release of gas is observed during the addition of the ie f-butyl hydroperoxide. A large amount of S0 ₃ and trace amount of HF are detected. Silica gel is used to minimize the corrosion of the glass reactor. After the addition, the internal temperature is kept to 60-70 °C for 1.0-1.5 h. The reaction is monitored by HPLC until ratio of uracil:5-TFU < 3:97 (HPLC area). Aqueous sodium sulfite solution (15 g (15 weight %), 0.0178 mol, 0.1 eq.) is added and stirred for another 30 min between 60-70 °C to quench residual ie f-butyl hydroperoxide. The peroxide level is checked with test strip (Merckoquant 1 1001 1 test strips until it is lower than 10 ppm). The mixture is then cooled to 25-35 °C, diluted with THF (40 ml_), the resulting mixture is filtered (to remove silica gel) and the filter cake is washed with THF (20 ml_). The combined filtrate is concentrated to about 170-190 mL (jacket temperature 70 °C/100-500 mbar). The resulting suspension is cooled to 10-15 °C in 2 h and held at this temperature for 1 h. The suspension is filtered, the filter cake is washed with cold water (20 mL) and dried at 45-50 °C to obtain white crystal (24 g; crude yield 75 %, HPLC assay yield is 73 %, area purity > 97% (220 nm). (Note: The resulting product containing some inorganic impurities was used directly in the following chlorination step. Around 4 g of product is lost in the aqueous mother liquor, which can be recovered by extraction with THF if necessary.) (Note: From a quality point of view the reaction without FeS0 ₄ and silica gel gives similar results)

5-trifluoromethyluracil (5-TFU)

White solid.

¹ H NMR (CD ₃ COCD ₃ ): δ 8.1 (s, 1 H), 10.5 (brs, 2H).

1 ⁹ F NMR (CD ₃ COCD ₃ ): δ -63.8

ESI MS (m/z) 179 [M-1 ] ^" Example 2: Preparation of 2,4-dichloro-5-trifluoromethylpyrimidine (5-TFP)

To a jacket reactor (500 mL) is added 5-trifluoromethyluracil (5-TFU, 40 g, ~ 70 % assay, ~ 0.16 mol, 1 .0 eq.), H ₃ PO4 (2.4 g; 0.02 mol, 0.13 eq.) and POCI ₃ (128 g; 0.83 mol, 5.2 eq.) (a white suspension is formed). DIPEA (35 g, 0.27 mol, 1 .69 eq.) is added to the suspension dropwise in about 10 min and then the reaction mixture is heated to 1 10-120 °C (clear solution). The reaction is monitored with HPLC until ratio 5-TFU:5-TFP < 5:95 (reaction normally finished in 7-8 h; if reaction is not complete, additional POCI ₃ (5 g, 0.032 mol, 0.2 eq) and DIPEA (1 .3 g, 0.01 mol, 0.06 eq) are charged and stirred for another 1 -2 h). The reaction is then cooled to rt and n-butyl acetate (80 mL) is added to the reaction mixture. About 60 mL of distillate (POCI ₃ and some n-butyl acetate) is collected at 63-65 °C/450-500 mbar. The resulting dark solution is slowly added to a mixture of cone. HCI (165 g, 27 weight %, 1 .23 mol, 7.7 eq.) and methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE, 120 mL) while the temperature is maintained below 20 °C. The organic phase is separated and the aqueous phase is extracted with MTBE (2 x 120 mL). The organic phase is gathered, washed with water until the pH value reaches ca. 5-6. MTBE is removed under reduced pressure (~ 42 °C/200 mbar), the final product is purified through distillation (87-89 °C/55 mbar) to afford 5-TFP as colorless oil (25.3 g, yield 72.9 %; purity 98 %).

2,4-dichloro-5-trifluoromethylpyrimidine (5-TFP)

Colorless to light yellow oil

1H NMR (CD ₃ COCD ₃ ): δ 8.8 (s, 1 H),

1 ⁹ F NMR (CD ₃ COCD ₃ ): δ -63.7

ESI MS (m/z) 216 [M-1 ] ^"

Comparative Example 1 : Preparation of 5-trifluoromethyluracil (5-TFU) according to PNAS 2077,14411 -14415 under biphasic conditions

To a mixture of uracil (0.5 g, 4.5 mmol) and sodium trifluoromethanesulfinate (2.1 g, 13.5 mmol, 3.0 eq.) in DCM (18 mL) and water (7 mL) is added dropwise ie f-butyl hydroperoxide (70 % solution in water, 2.9 g, 22.5 mmol, 5 eq.) with vigorous stirring while controlling the inner temperature around 0-2 °C. The reaction is allowed to warm to rt (20-22 °C) and monitored by HPLC until completion (completed in 22 h). The reaction mixture is distilled under vacuum at rt to remove DCM, the resulting mixture is extracted with ethyl acetate (4 x 20 mL). The combined organic layers are dried with sodium sulfate and concentrated to obtain 5-TFU as white solid (assay yield 55 %).

Note: A new impurity with high polarity was found under 254 nm by HPLC during the reaction.

Comparative Example 2: Preparation of 5-trifluoromethyluracil (5-TFU) according to PNAS 2077,14411 -14415 under monophasic (aqueous) conditions

To a mixture of uracil (0.5 g, 4.5 mmol) and sodium trifluoromethanesulfinate (2.1 g, 13.5 mmol, 3.0 eq.) in water (25 mL) is slowly added ie f-butyl hydroperoxide (70 % solution in water, 2.9 g, 22.5 mmol, 5 eq.) with vigorous stirring while controlling the inner temperature around 0-2 °C. The reaction is allowed to warm to rt (20-22 °C) and monitored by HPLC. The conversion is only 36 % after 24 h. Comparative Example 3: Preparation of 5-trifluoromethyluracil (5-TFU) according to process of the invention without pre-treatment of sodium trifluoromethanesulfinate (CF ₃ S0 ₂ Na) A jacket reactor (2 L) is charged with uracil (50 g, 0.446 mol, 1 eq.), sodium trifluoromethanesulfinate (31 1 .0 g, 65 %, 1 .293 mol, 2.9 eq.), ferrous sulfate (FeS0 ₄ ) heptahydrate (5.0 g) and water (500 ml_). The resulting suspension is heated to 40 °C. Terf-butyl hydroperoxide (287 g ;70 % aqueous solution, 2.232 mol, 5 eq.) is added slowly into the mixture while keeping the internal temperature between 55-75 °C. After addition of peroxide, the resulting mixture is stirred between 50-60 °C for 0.5 to 1.0 h. The reaction is monitored by HPLC until the ratio of uracil:5-TFU < 3:97 (HPLC area). The peroxide residue is quenched with aqueous sodium sulfite solution until peroxide concentration is below 10 ppm. The resulting mixture is extracted with 2-MeTHF (4 x 250 mL) and the combined organic phase is washed with NaCI aqueous solution (25 %; 150 mL). The organic phase is then concentrated to get the crude product as white solid. HPLC assay yield is 48 %.

Note: Direct use of the commercial grade CF ₃ S0 ₂ Na gives variable yield. In this batch, the assay yield is around 20 % lower than the normal result when using the reagent after pre- treatment (see pre-treatment procedure in example 1 ; i.e. the reaction under the condions of comparative example 3 with pre-treatment according to example 1 has an HPLC assay yield of 67 %) . Significant amounts of impurities with high polarity are found in the HPLC monitoring of the reaction (220 nm).

HPLC method

Sample ca. 25 mg of sample was dissolved in 25 mL methanol/water Preparation (1 : 1 )

Injection 1 μΙ_

Volume

UV Detection wavelength: 254 nm, 220 nm, bandwidth: 8 nm

reference: off

peakwidth (response time): > 0.1 min (6 s) or comparable

System For purity testing of final product the attributes of the

Suitability principal peak should not violate following ranges:

- Symmetry factor between 0.8 and 1.5.

- Height between 0.8 and 1.2 AU (resp. 0.8 to 1.2 V).

- Retention time as stated below ± 5%. od for the final product

to 1 .2 V).

- Retention time as stated below ± 5%.