An efficient and concise asymmetric synthesis of pitavastatin calcium (1) starting from commercially available (S)-epichlorohydrin is described. A convergent C1 + C6 route allowed for the assembly of the pitavastatin C7 side chain via a Wittig reaction between phosphonium salt 2 and the enantiomerically pure C6-formyl side chain 3. The 1,3-syn-diol acetal motif in 3 was established with excelle...

reactions of n-isocyaniminotriphenylphosphorane with cyclopentanone have been studied in the presence of aromatic carboxylic acids and primary amines, proceeds smoothly at room temperature under neutral conditions to afford sterically congested 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives by an intramolecular aza-wittig cyclization in ch2cl2 in excellent yields. the structures of the products were deduced from...