Development of a Scalable Synthesis of Tofogliflozin

An efficient and scalable synthesis of an antidiabetic drug, tofogliflozin (1), which was identified as a highly selective sodium glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor, is described. A key factor in the synthesis of 1 was the selection of the purpose-designed protecting group, which plays a strategic role in protection, chemoselective activation, and crystalline purification. The developed and optimized method made it possible to prepare 1 on a multidecagram scale without any column chromatography.