The Application of Visible‐Light‐Mediated Reactions to the Synthesis of Pharmaceutical Compounds

This chapter surveys application of visible-light-mediated reactions to pharmaceutical products and biologically relevant molecules, spanning the spectrum of the novel, previously unreported disconnection, through to the amide bond formation. Pharmaceutical products provide a fertile testing ground for modern methodologies due to the high percentage of aromatic and heteroaromatic rings, as well as the quantity of heteroatoms, and Lewis basic sites. There has been a recent drive by Merck, among others, to concurrently develop, and screen new transformations for their robustness on representative groups of pharmaceutical compounds. The recent advances in the combination of photoredox and nickel catalysis have provided a wide range of new synthetic methods with applications to the synthesis of pharmaceuticals. Research scientists at Merck have been leaders in the application of visible-light-mediated reactions to pharmaceutical compounds, particularly with regard to the challenges associated with scale-up.