The present invention relates to a process for the preparation of a compound (I),

or pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, which is useful as the key intermediate for the synthesis of compounds for prophylaxis and treatment of a disease associated with the deposition of b-amyloid in the brain, in particular Alzheimer’s disease, and other diseases such as cerebral amyloid angiopathy, hereditary cerebral hemorrhage with amyloidosis, Dutch-type (HCHWA-D), multi-infarct dementia, dementia pugilistica and Down syndrome.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The synthetic approach of compound (I) was disclosed in patent WO2018118838 and W02005021536, however the current processes are not suitable for large scale production due to the following issues:

(a) column purification with tedious work up process is needed for three of the

intermediates, such as: 3-benzyl-3-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octan-8-one oxime; 3-benzyl-3- azabicyclo[3.2.1]octan-8-amine; tert-butyl N-(3-benzyl-3-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octan-8- yl)carbamate;

(b) HPLC or SFC chiral separation is necessary, which leads to a large amount of cost;

(c) no report available on removing the excessive B0C ₂ O in step d) which leads to the major by-product in step e).

Based on the issues above, one object of this invention therefore is to find an efficient synthetic approach which can address all of above issues and be applied on a technical scale.

Another aspect of the present invention relates to a novel process for the preparation of a compound (V) and/or compound (Va): (Va), wherein the acid is selected from D-glutamic acid, (R)-(-)-Mandelic acid, l-hydroxy-2- naphthoic acid, citric acid, 4 -amino salicylic acid, L-tartaric acid, hippuric acid, malonic acid, glutaric acid, oxalic acid, fumaric acid, succinic acid, 4-aminobenzoic acid, 2,5- dihydroxybenzoic acid, L- malic acid, salicylic acid, maleic acid, (lS,3R)-(-)-camphoric acid, pamoic acid, mucic acid, palmitic acid, oleic acid and lactobionic acid; particularly the acid is (R)-(-)-Mandelic acid.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION DEFINITIONS

The term“pharmaceutically acceptable salt” refers to conventional acid-addition salts or base-addition salts that retain the biological effectiveness and properties of the compounds of formula I and are formed from suitable non-toxic organic or inorganic acids or organic or inorganic bases. Acid-addition salts include for example those derived from inorganic acids such as hydrochloric acid, hydrobromic acid, hydroiodic acid, sulfuric acid, sulfamic acid, phosphoric acid and nitric acid, and those derived from organic acids such as p-toluenesulfonic acid, salicylic acid, methanesulfonic acid, oxalic acid, succinic acid, citric acid, malic acid, lactic acid, fumaric acid, and the like. Base-addition salts include those derived from ammonium, potassium, sodium and, quaternary ammonium hydroxides, such as for example, tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide. The chemical modification of a pharmaceutical compound into a salt is a technique well known to pharmaceutical chemists in order to obtain improved physical and chemical stability, hygroscopicity, flowability and solubility of compounds. It is for example described in Bastin R.J., et al, Organic Process Research & Development 2000, 4, 427-435; or in Ansel, H., et al., In: Pharmaceutical Dosage Forms and Drug Delivery Systems, 6th ed. (1995), pp. 196 and

1456-1457.

ABBREVIATION

API Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient

DBU l,8-Diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene

DCM Dichloromethane

DIPEA N,N-Diisopropylethylamine

DMF Dimethylformamide

eq Equivalent

EtOAc or EA Ethyl acetate

IPA Isopropanol

IPAc Isopropyl acetate

2-MeTHF 2-Methyltetrahydrofuran

MTBE Methyl tert-butyl ether

NMM N - methy lmorpho line

NMP N-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone

Pd/C Palladium on carbon

Pd(OH)/C Palladium hydroxide on carbon

Raney-Ni Raney nickel

TEA Triethylamine

TFA Trifluoro acetic acid

v/v Volume ratio wt.% Weight percentage

The present invention provides a process for preparing the compounds of formula (I) as outlined in the scheme 1.

Scheme 1

The synthesis comprises the following steps: step a) the imine formation of compound (III),

(II), and hydro xylamine hydrochloride; step b) the formation of compound (VI),

(VI), via reduction reaction from compound (III); on of compound (V),

Acid

(V), from compound (VI) and an acid; wherein the acid is selected from D-glutamic acid, (R)-(-)-Mandelic acid, l-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid, citric acid, 4- amino salicylic acid, L-tartaric acid, hippuric acid, malonic acid, glutaric acid, oxalic acid, fumaric acid, succinic acid, 4-aminobenzoic acid, 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid, L-malic acid, salicylic acid, maleic acid, (lS,3R)-(-)-camphoric acid, pamoic acid, mucic acid, palmitic acid, oleic acid and lactobionic acid; particularly the acid is (R)-(-)-Mandelic acid; step d) the formation of compound (VI),

via the dissociation and boc-protection reaction of compound (V);

Step e) the formation of compound (I), via the de-protection reaction of compound (VI).

A detailed description of present invention of process steps is as following: Step a) the imine formation of compound (III),

(II), and hydroxylamine hydrochloride.

Compound of formula (III) is synthesized in the presence of a suitable solvent with a suitable base.

The suitable solvent is selected from MeOH and EtOH; particularly the solvent is EtOH.

The suitable base is selected from KOAc and NaOAc; particularly the suitable base is NaOAc.

The solvent exchange to EtOH after extraction is critical for the whole process in terms of technical scale manufacture. Concentration to remove EA directly gave acceptable yield but this process is unsuitable for large scale manufacture due to safety concern. In present invention, solvent was exchanged to EtOH, which can be controlled for large scale manufacture.

Step b) the formation of compound (IV),

(IV), via reduction reaction from compound (III).

Compound (IV) is synthesized in a suitable solvent with a suitable reducing reagent.

The suitable solvent is selected from MeOH, EtOH and IPA; particularly the solvent is

EtOH. The suitable reducing reagent is selected from Na, Pd/c and Raney-Ni; particularly the reducing reagent is Raney-Ni.

The reaction is performed at 0 °C - 70 °C, particularly at 20 °C - 30 °C.

Temperature is critical for the whole process in terms of endolexo selectivity. In present invention, step a) and b) are telescoped without solid isolation. The higher temperature (>50°C) and the lower temperature (<5 °C) during the reduction reaction resulted in low ratio of desired exo product. The temperature system designed in step b) of present invention gives highest yield and good purge effect for impurities.

A series of studies were carried out to demonstrate the impact of reaction temperature, which showed that 20-30°C is the best condition for the reduction reaction:

III IVa IVb

Step c) the salt formation of compound (V), ₂

Acid

(V), from compound (VI) and an acid; wherein the acid is selected from D-glutamic acid, (R)-(-)-Mandelic acid, l-hydroxy-2-naphthoic acid, citric acid, 4- amino salicylic acid, L-tartaric acid, hippuric acid, malonic acid, glutaric acid, oxalic acid, fumaric acid, succinic acid, 4-aminobenzoic acid, 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid, L-malic acid, salicylic acid, maleic acid, (lS,3R)-(-)-camphoric acid, pamoic acid, mucic acid, palmitic acid, oleic acid and lactobionic acid; particularly the acid is (R)-(-)-Mandelic acid.

Compound of formula (V) is synthesized in the presence of the acid with suitable amount in a suitable organic solvent.

The amount of (R)-(-)-Mandelic acid used in this step is 0.1-2.0 eq., particularly 0.6 eq.

The suitable solvent is selected from MeOH, EtOH, n-propanol, IPA, MeCN, acetone, THF and toluene; particularly the solvent is EtOH.

Step d) the formation of compound (VI),

via the dissociation and boc-protection reaction of compound (V).

Compound (VI) in this step is synthesized via dissociation reaction in the presence of a suitable base in a suitable solvent, followed by protected with Boc group. The compound (VI) is purified through recrystallization which was performed in a suitable solvent.

The suitable base used in dissociation reaction is selected from NaiCCE, K ₂ CO ₃ , NaHCCE, KHCO ₃ , NaOH and KOH; particularly the base is K ₂ CO ₃ .

The suitable solvent used in dissociation reaction is selected from IP Ac, EtOAc, MTBE, toluene, THF and 2-MeTHF; particularly the solvent is THF. The recrystallization is performed in a suitable solvent at 20 °C -70 °C, particularly at 20 °C - 30 °C, for 2-48 hrs, particularly for 16 hrs; wherein the suitable solvent is selected from n-heptane, hexane and petroleum ether; particularly the solvent is n-heptane.

Recrystallization in n-heptane is critical for the whole process to improve yield, remove excessive B0C2O and avoid a di-boc by-product after de-protection removing benzyl group in step e). In present invention, dissociation and protection with Boc group are telescoped without isolation. The recrystallization system designed in this step of present invention gives high yield, good purge effect for impurities and preventing the major by-product

forming in step e) after de-protection reaction due to excessive

B0C2O left from step d).

Step e) the formation of compound (I),

via the de-protection reaction of compound (VI).

Compound of formula (I) is de-protected and synthesized in the presence of a suitable solvent with a suitable reducing reagent.

The suitable solvent is selected from MeOH and EtOH; particularly the solvent is EtOH.

The reducing reagent is selected from hydrogenation with Pd/C and Pd(OH)/C; particularly the reducing reagent is Pd(OH)/C.

The reaction temperature is performed at 20 °C - 100 °C, particularly at 65 °C - 75 °C.

EXAMPLES

The invention will be more fully understood by reference to the following examples. They should not, however, be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. Example 1

3-benzyl-3-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octan-8-one oxime (compound III)

To a 500 L glass-lined reactor under N2 protection was charged with EtOH (150.00 kg) and 3-benzyl-3- azabicyclo[3.2.1]octan-8-one (compound (II) from Xinlong pharmaceutical, 27 kg, 125.41 mol., 1.00 eq.) at 15 °C ~25°C. After being stirred for 30 min, the reaction mixture was charged with hydroxylamine hydrochloride (15.7 kg, 225.93 mol, 1.80 eq.), and sodium acetate (15.4 kg, 187.74 mol, 1.5 eq) in portions slowly to the mixture at 15 °C ~20 °C. The resulting reaction mixture was heated to 40 °C ~50 °C and stirred for another 20 hours, then concentrated to remove part of the solvent to around 60 L~80 L. The residue solution was cooled to 0 °C ~ 5 °C followed by addition of ice water (108 kg) over 20 min at same the temperature range. Then NaHCCE (32.4 kg) was added to the mixture portion wise over 2 hours at 0 °C ~20 °C. The resulting reaction mixture was stirred for another hour at 20 °C ~25 °C and then extracted with EA (80 kg) 3 times. The combined organic layer was washed with water (54 kg) and 20 % wt NaCl aqueous solution (40.5 kg), then filtered through a pad of NaiSCE (20 kg) and concentrated to remove part of the solvent to 40 L ~50 L. The mixture was charged with EtOH (108 kg), then concentrated to 40 L ~50 L. EtOH (108 kg) was added again to the residue and concentrated to 50 L ~60 L to give a crude product, which was used directly in the next step.

Example 2

3-Benzyl-3-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octan-8-amine (compound (IV))

To a 1000 L glass-lined reactor was charged with EtOH (270 kg) and 3-benzyl-3- azabicyclo[3.2.1]octan-8-one oxime (compound (III), from Example 1). The formed suspension was degassed under vacuum and purged with N2 for three times followed by addition of Raney- Ni (32 kg, 0.8 wt%) at 15 °C ~25°C. The resulting suspension was degassed under vacuum and purged with ¾ to 0.5 MPa three times. The reaction mixture was heated to 25 °C ~30 °C with stirring for another 14 hours under 0.2 MPa~0.3 MPa ¾, then filtered through a MCC (Microcrystalline Cellulose) pad followed by rinsing with EtOH (160 kg) to remove the catalyst. The mother liquor was concentrated to about 180 L left to obtain the crude compounds (IV) which was used for next step reaction without further purification.

Example 3

<?x0-3-Benzyl-3-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octan-8-amine; (R)-(-)-Mandelic acid (compound (Va))

To a 300 L glass-lined reactor with solution of 3-benzyl-3-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octan-8-amine from compound (IV) (180 L) was charged with (R)-(-)-Mandelic acid (12 kg, 78.87 mol, 0.60 eq.) at 60 °C ~70 °C. After addition, the reaction mixture was stirred at this temperature for another 3 hours, then cooled to 20 °C~ 25 °C over 4 hours and stirrer for another 7 hours at the same temperature. The solid was separated via centrifuge and the wet cake was washed with EtOH (10 kg) to afford crude product, compound (Va) as a wet cake.

To a 300 L glass-lined reactor was charged with the wet cake and EtOH (126 kg) at 15 °C- 25 °C and heated to 80 °C ~85 °C with stirring for 6 hours. The solution was cooled to 20 °C~ 30 °C over 4 hours with stirring for another 16 hours at this temperature. The solid was separated via centrifuge and was washed with EtOH (10 kg), and dried in vacuum oven (30 mmHg, 40 °C) for 32 hours to afford compound (Va) (16 kg, 34.6% yield (3 steps from compound II), 99.65% chiral purity).

Compound (Va): Ή NMR (400 MHz, DMSO-d6) d = 7.37 - 7.12 (m, 11H), 4.51 (s, 1H), 2.99 (s, 1H), 2.60 (dd, J = 4.0, 10.7 Hz, 2H), 2.16 - 2.03 (m, 4H), 1.78 - 1.70 (m, 2H), 1.70 - 1.60 (m, 2H)

Example 4

exo-tert-Butyl N-(3-benzyl-3-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octan-8-yl)carbamate (compound (VI))

To a 100 L glass-lined reactor was charged with 3-benzyl-3-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octan-8- amine-(R)-(-)-mandelic acid salt (compound (V)), 7 kg, 19.0 mol, 1.00 eq.) portion wise to water (32 kg) solution of K2CO3 (9.17 kg, 66.35 mol, 3.49 eq.) at 20 °C~ 30 °C. The resulting reaction mixture was stirred at 20 °C~ 30 °C for 0.5 hour and diluted with THF (35 kg) followed by addition of B0C2O (4.97 kg, 22.77 mol, 1.2 eq) dropwise at 20 °C~ 30 °C over 1.5 hours. After being stirred for another 16 hours at 20 °C~ 30 °C, the reaction mixture was extracted with EtOAc (25 L) three times. The combined organic layer was washed with water (10 kg) three times, dried over Na ₂ S0 ₄ (3.00 kg) for 0.5 hours and then concentrated to remove almost all EtOAc and gave 16 kg crude solid. The crude residue was suspended in n-heptane (10.00 L) and heated to 50 °C~ 60 °C with stirring for 3 hours. After being cooled to 5 °C~ 10 °C, the mixture was stirred for another 5 hours and filtered. The collected solid was rinsed with n-heptane (5 L) twice and dried under vacuum for 20 hours at 45 °C~ 50 °C to afford tert-butyl N-(3-benzyl-3- azabicyclo[3.2.1]octan-8-yl)carbamate (compound (VI), 5.60 kg, 1.26 mol, 93.5% yield, 99.68% purity) as an off white solid.

Compound (VI): Ή NMR: (400 MHz, CDCb) d ppm: 7.22-7.32 (m, 5H), 4.43 (s, 1H), 3.49-3.54 (d,lH), 2.66-2.71 (dd, 2H), 2.19-2.23 (d, 2H), 2.12 (s, 2H), 1.77-1.84 (dd, 2H), 1.64- 1.72 (dd, 2H), 1.46 (s, 9H).

Example 5

exo-tert-Butyl N-(3-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octan-8-yl)carbamate (compound (I))

To a 100 L autoclave reactor was charged with EtOH (35.00 L), Pd(OH)/C (350.00 g, 10% wt) and tert-butyl N-(3-benzyl-3-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octan-8-yl)carbamate (compound VI, 3.50 kg, 11.06 mol, 1.00 eq.) at 10 °C-20 °C. The resulting suspension was degassed under vacuum and purged with ¾ three times, then heated to 50 °C ~55 °C with stirring under ¾ (0.3 Mpa~ 0.4 Mpa) for 16 hours. The same batch size was duplicated three times and filtered through MCC pad to remove the catalyst after being combined. The filtrate was concentrated by azeotrope with n-heptane (10.00 L) twice and then mixed with n-heptane (10.00 L). The mixture was heated to 50 °C ~55 °C with stirring for 16 hours and then cooled down to 20 °C ~30 °C to form a suspension. The solid was collected by vacuum filtration and rinsed with n-heptane (5 L) twice. The resulting wet cake was dried under vacuum for 20 hours at 45 °C~ 50 °C to afford tert-butyl N-(3-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octan-8-yl)carbamate (compound (I), 6.00 kg, 26.51 mol, 80% yield, 99.38% purity) as a white solid.

Compound (I): Ή NMR: (400 MHz, DMSO) d ppm: 6.49 (s, 1H), 3.284-3.293 (d,lH), 2.48- 2.57 (m, 5H), 1.89 (s, 2H), 1.66-1.68 (m, 2H), 1.40-1.42 (d, 2H), 1.34 (s, 9H).