Abstract
An efficient enantiospecific synthesis of the LFA-1 antagonist BIRT-377 has been achieved in 43% overall yield in eight steps. The key transformations involve the stereospecific formation of the trans imidazolidinone 7, subsequent alkylation, and the efficient hydrolysis of disubstituted imidazolidinone 9. The process is practical, robust, and cost-effective; it has been successfully implemented in the pilot plant to produce multikilogram quantities of the drug BIRT-377 (1).

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