Scalable synthesis of favipiravir via conventional and continuous flow chemistry

• Thanat Tiyasakulchai^a
• Netnapa Charoensetakul^a
• Thitiphong Khamkhenshorngphanuch^b
• Chawanee Thongpanchanga^a
• Onsiri Srikun^c
• Yongyuth Yuthavong^a
• Nitipol Srimongkolpithak^a

• ^aNational Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC), National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Pathum Thani, Thailand
• ^bDepartment of General Education, Faculty of Science and Health Technology, Navamindradhiraj University, Bangkok, Thailand
• ^cGovernment Pharmaceutical Organization (GPO), Bangkok, Thailand

Decagram scale synthesis of favipiravir was performed in 9 steps using diethyl malonate as cheap starting material. Hydrogenation and bromination steps were achieved by employing a continuous flow reactor. The synthetic process provided a total of 16% yield and it is suitable for larger-scale synthesis and production.

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