Concise and highly efficient approach to three key pyrimidine precursors for rosuvastatin synthesis

We report the synthesis of 5-formyl-, 5-(hydroxymethyl)-, and 5-(bromomethyl) substituted N-[4-(4-fluorophenyl)-6-isopropylpyrimidin-2-yl]-N-methylmethanesulfonamide. The presented synthetic approach is based on highly efficient three step preparation of functionalized 5-methylpyrimidine. The methyl group is selectively brominated by NBS with irradiation into the bromomethyl derivative, which is then transformed into the hydroxymethyl or formyl groups in nearly quantitative yields. This approach is superior to the existing methodologies for the preparation of the key pyrimidine precursors used in the synthesis of rosuvastatin since no metal catalysis and no cryogenic reaction conditions are involved.