HK1086841B - A method for the preparation of enantiomerically pure mirtazapine - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method for the preparation of enantiomerically pure mirtazapine comprising ring closure with an acid.

Mirtazapine, 1,2,3,4.10,14b-hexahydro-2-methyl-pyrazino[2,1-a]pyrido[2,3-c][2]benzazepine is a tetracyclic compound having the formula I:

The compound is chiral and the racemic mixture finds widespread use as a medicine for the treatment of depression. Other medical uses for mirtazapine have also been reported e.g., WO 99/25356 and WO 01/58453 disclose its use in the treatment of sleep disorders and apnea. Investigations into the biological effects of the enantiomers of mirtazapine (e.g. O'Connor and Leonard, Neuropharmacotogy, 1986, viol. 25, pp. 267-270; Kooyman et al., 1994, vol. 33, pp. 501-507; De Boer et. al., Neuropharmacology,1988, vol. 27, pp. 399-408; Gower et al., 1988, vol. 291, pp 185-201) Invoke the use of the compound in its pure enantiomeric forms, which opens the need for efficient production of large quantities of enantiomerically pure mirtazapine. The present invention provides for improvement in such a production method.

A variety of methods are known in the art for the preparation of mirtazapine. US 4062848 describes variations within a four stage synthetic scheme by which the synthesis of mirtazapine can be accomplished starting from a 2-substituted nicotinitrile. Further modifications to various stages of this route have subsequently been described in WO 00/62782 , WO 01/23345 and US 6,376,668 .

The preparation of enantiomerically pure mirtazapine has been addressed in US 4062848 , WO 00/62782 and Selditz et. al., 1998 (J. Chromatography, 1998, vol 803, pp 169-177). By the method disclosed in US 4062848 , enantiomerically pure mirtazapine is obtained by fractional crystallisation of the diastereoisomeric salts formed by reaction of racemic mirtazapine with enantiomerically pure dibenzoyltartaric acid in ethanol followed by regeneration of the free base by treatment with aqueous ammonia. Other methods of forming pure mirtazapine by recrystallisation of crude mirtazapine are disclosed in WO 00/62782. Selditz et al. describe a chromatographic method to separate the enantiomers. In these methods resolution occurs at the end of the synthetic pathway leading to the generation of a racemic mixture of mirtazapine. It follows therefore that the overall yield of each enantiomerically pure compound obtained is relatively low and can never be more than 50%. It would be beneficial to have a more economic method in which enantiomerically pure mirtazapine could be prepared with an overall improved yield.

According to the method described in US 4062848 mirtazapine can be obtained as a result of ring closure of a compound of formula (II), wherein X can represent a leaving group, such as a hydroxyl group, an esterified or otherfied hydroxyl group or a halogen, using a variety of ring dosing reagents. Examples of such reagents include acids such as sulfuric acid, concentrated hydrochloric acid, picric acid, trifluoroacetic acid, phosphoric acid, polyphosphoric acid (PPA), phosphorus oxychloride, phosphorus trioxide, phosphorus pentoxide and Lewis Acids such as aluminium chloride, ferric chloride, zinc chloride, tin chloride, titanium chloride, boron trifluoride, antimony pentachloride and zirconium tetrachloride. In US 4062848 preparation of mirtazapine is exemplified by ring closure using concentrated sulfuric acid. In WO 00/62782 it is indicated that concentrated sulfuric acid is most preferred. In US 4062848 a remark is made that pure enantiomers of mirtazapine might be obtained synthetically by using enantiomerically pure starting material for the last ring closure step. However, the method described in WO 00/62782 with concentrated sulfuric acid does not sufficiently retain optical purity. Apparently, those reaction conditions allow excessive racemisation.

Surprisingly, it has now been found that for the synthesis of enantiomerically pure mirtazapine by ring closure of an enantiomerically pure compound of formula (II). stereochemical integrity in the starting material can nevertheless be preserved by making a specific selection out of the above mentioned ring closing reagents.

The present invention therefore provides a method for the preparation of an enantiomer of mirtazapine comprising less than 10% of the other enantiomer, said method comprising a ring closure reaction of a compound of formula (II) wherein X is a leaving group, said reaction comprising treatment with an acid, characterized in that the mirtazapine with enantiomeric excess is formed by the ring closure reaction of an R- or S-enantiomer of the compound of formula (II) by treatment with an acid or acid/solvent combination selected from the list consisting of

1. a) polyphosphoric acid in the absence of a solvent and whereby the weight ratio between polyphosphoric acid and the compound according to formula II is less than 2.5:1; or
2. b) polyphosphoric acid in the presence of the solvent N-methylpyrrolidinone or DMF; or
3. c) phosphorus pentoxide in the presence of the solvent N-methylpyrrolidinone.

When polyphosphoric acid is introduced in amounts of pentoxide and phosphoric acid (possibly in weight (w/w) ratio of pentoxide over phosphoric acid of 1:1 to 1:9) the weights of phosphorus pentoxide and phosphoric acid are added up to express as the total amount of polyphosphoric acid.

The alcohol according to formula II is preferably used as crystalline salt or solvate, such as the oxalate salt of (S) or (R) 1-(3-hydroxymethyl-2-pyridyl)4-mothyl-2-phenylpiperazine. Optionally, dicalite is added to the reaction mixture to prevent lump formation.

The term mirtazapine is used here in its generic meaning commonly used to refer to the chemical compound as a base and, depending on the context, to the salts and solvates thereof and supplemented with the prefixes (R) or (S) and/or (+) or (-) to the enantiomers of the compound. The (S) configuration causes positive optical rotation in the usual solvents.

The term enantiomeric excess in a compound refers to the difference between the amounts of each of the enantiomers present in a mixture, relative to the total amount of the compound in the mixture expressed as percentage. For example, in a 10 g mixture containing 9 g mirtazapine (90%), of which 4 g is (R)-mirtazapine and 5 g is (S)-mirtazapine the enantiomeric excess of the (S)-enantiomer is about 11%. In an abbreviated manner the term mirtazapine or compound with enantiomeric excess refers to a mixture containing the mirtazapine or the compound with enantiomeric excess.

The invention can provide enantiomerically pure mirtazapine if enantiomerically pure starting material is used and the ring closure is effected by treatment with a suitable acid in the absence of a solvent or a suitable combination of an acid and an organic solvent.

Enantiomerically pure compound is one comprising less than 20 % of the other enantiomer, which is an enantiomeric excess of 60 %. Depending on the specific conditions of the invented method an enantiomerically pure compound having less than 10 % of the other enantiomer or less than 1 % of the other enantiomer can also be obtained. The yields of enantiomerically pure mirtazapine isolated are typically not less than 50 % but yields of not less than 70 % can also be obtained.

A leaving group is a reactive function on a molecule which undergoes displacement from the molecule when a new bond is formed, as is commonly known in the art. More specifically a leaving group can be a hydroxyl group, an activated ester thereof, such as a carboxylate, a sulfonate or a phosphonate, or a halogen. Groups with this function are commonly known in the art and the list can be further expanded by consultation of commonly available handbooks for organic synthesis.

Whilst the ring closure reaction can take place at room temperature, the reaction can also be facilitated with additional heating. It is a further aspect of the invention therefore to include ring closure according to the methods of the present invention including additional heating.

A compound of formula (II) can be prepared by the synthetic route shown in Scheme I which is described in US 4062848 .

Thus, compound (V) can be prepared by reaction of compound (IV) with chloronicotinitrile (III) in an organic solvent, such as tetrahydrofuran or dimethylformamide and in the presence of an equivalent of a base such as potassium fluoride. Compound (VI) can then be prepared by hydrolysis of compound (V) using an aqueous base such as potassium hydroxide in an alcohol such as ethanol, typically at reflux. In WO 00/62782 , it is described that the molar ratio of the base used to effectuate the nitrile hydrolysis can be reduced from 25 moles of base (as disclosed in the procedure of US patent 4062848 ) to around 12 moles of base. Finally compound (II) can be prepared by reduction of compound (VI) again using a metal hydride such as lithium aluminium hydride in an organic solvent such as tetrahydrofuran. Conversion of the alcohol function to other leaving groups such as carboxylate and sulphonate esters and to halogens can be readily achieved by methods which are well known in the art.

Preparation of enantiomerically pure compound (II) can then be achieved by using methods well known in the art. For example, asymmetric synthesis methods e.g., synthesis with chiral induction, fractional crystallisation of diastereoisomeric salts formed upon reaction with a chiral acid or separation by chromatography on a chiral medium by normal or reverse phase chromatographic methods. Such methods are for example described in 'chirality in Industry' (edited by A.N. Collins, G.N. Sheldrake and J. Crosby, 1992; John Wiley)

The invention also includes enantiomerically pure mirtazapine produced by the method of the present invention and pharmaceutical compositions of such for use in therapy. Such compositions can comprise a therapeutically effective amount of enantiomerically pure mirtazapine in combination with pharmaceutically acceptable carriers and excipients which are well known in the art.

The invention is illustrated by the following examples:

Example 1a Preparation of [S]-mirtazapine

(S)-1-(3-Hydroxymethyl-2-pyridyl)-4-methyl-2-phonylpiperazine (023 g, 1.03 mmol) was dissolved in N-mathylpyrrolidinane (10 mL). The resulting solution was added dropwise to polyphosphoric acid (1.46 g) in N-methylpyrrolidone (5 mL) with stirring at 81°C. The reaction mixture was stirred at 100°C for 72 h. It was then diluted with sodium hydroxide solution and diethyl ether. The organic layer was separated and washed twice with water. Magnesium sulfate was added, removed by filtration and the filtrate was evaporated. The title compound (0.19 g, 68 %) was obtained as an oily product. The enantiomeric excess (e.e.) of the product was 99.2%.

Example 1b

To a mixture of polyphosphoric acid (41.8 g) and N-methylpyrolidine (10.5 ml) was added a solution of (S)-1-(3-Hydroxymethyl-2-pyridyl)-4-methyl-2-phenylpiperazine (7.02 g, 24.7 mmol) in N-methylpyrrolidinone (10 mL). The reaction mixture was heated to 130°C for 1 hour. To the reaction mixture were added water (152 ml), dicalite (8.8 g), toluene (76 ml), and 33% sodium hydroxide solution (128 ml). The aqueous layer was separated and extracted twice with toluene (76 ml). The combined toluene layers were washed three times with water (76 ml), dried with MgSO₄ and evaporated. This gave 4.63 g of (S)-Mirtazapine (70%) with an e.e. of 99%.

Example 2 Preparation of (S)-mirtazapine

(S)-1-(3-Hydroxymethyl-2-pyridyl)-4-methyl-2-phenylpiperazine (0.30 g. 1.0587 mmole) was dissolved in 18.75 ml of dimethylformamide. To the solution 0.75 g dicalite and 1.5 g polyphosphoric acid was added. The reaction mixture was stirred for one day at 100 °C. It was then diluted with sodium hydroxide and extracted with diethyl ether. The organic layer was washed twice with water, dried with magnesium sulfate, filtered and the filtrate was evaporated. The title compound (0.19 g, 68%) was obtained as an oily product The e.e. of the product was 99.2%.

Example 3 Preparation of (S)-mirtazapine

(S)-1-(3-Hydroxymethyl-2-pyridyl)-4-methyl-2-phenylpiperazine (0.50 g, 1.76 mmole) was dissolved in N-methylpyrolidone (7.5 ml) and heated to 100°C. To this mixture dicalite (0.62 g) and phosphorus pentoxide (1.26 g) were added. After 66 hours the reaction was complete. Water was added to the reaction mixture, It was then filtered. The pH was adjusted to 14 by adding 4N sodium hydroxide solution. The aqueous solution was extracted with diethyl ether. The organic layer was dried with magnesium sulfate and evaporated. This provided the title compound (0.24 g, 51 %) with an e.e. of 99.7%.

Example 4 (for comparative purpose) Preparation of (S)-mirtazaine

To [S]-1-(3-Hydroxymethyl-2-pyridyl)-4-methyl-2-phenylpiperazine (0.5 g, 1.77 mmole) was added polyphosphoric acid (9.6 g). The reaction mixture was heated to 100°C for 20 hours. The reaction mixture was diluted with water (6.5 ml) and the pH was brought to 8 by adding 4N sodium hydroxide solution. The water layer was extracted with ethyl acetate. The organic layer was washed with water, dried with magnesium sulfate and evaporated. This provided the title compound (0.29 g, 62%) with e.e. of 76%.

Example 5

To [S]-1-(3-Hydroxymethyl-2-pyridyl)-4-methyl-2-phenylpiperazine (1.0 g, 3.53 mmole) was added polyphosphoric acid (2 g). The reaction mixture was heated to 130°C for 18 hours. The reaction mixture was diluted with water (6.5 ml) and the pH was brought to 8 by adding 4N sodium hydroxide solution. The water layer was extracted with ethyl acetate. The organic layer was washed with water, dried with magnesium sulfate and evaporated. This provided the title compound (0.71 g, 76%) with e.e. of 98%.

Example 6 (for comparative purpose)

A solution of [S]-1-(3-Hydroxymothyl-2-pyridyl)-4-methyt-2-phenylpiperazine (1.0g, 3.53 mmole) in dichloromethane was added to polyphosphoric acid prepared from 85% phosphoric acid (2.8 g) and phosphorouspentoxide (1.3 g). The reaction mixture was heated to 130°C for 18 hours. The reaction mixture was diluted with water (6.5 ml) and the pH was brought to 8 by adding 4N sodium hydroxide solution. The water layer was extracted with ethyl acetate. The organic layer was washed with water, dried with magnesium sulfate and evaporated. This provided the title compound (0.79 g, 84%) with e.e. of 83%.

Example 7

To polyphosphoric acid (20 gram) was added (S)-1-(3-hydroxymethyl-2-pyridyl)-4-methyl-2-phenylpiperazine oxalic acid salt (13.2 g, 35.3 mmole). The reaction mixture was stirred at 130°C for 18 hours. To the reaction mixture were added water (220 ml), ethyl acetate (220 ml), and 33% sodium hydroxide solution (65 ml). The aqueous layer was separated and extracted twice with ethyl acetate (220 ml). The combined organic fractions were washed three times with water (220 ml) and evaporated. This gave 7.9 g of (S)-Mirtazapine (84%) with an e.e. of 99.2%.

Example 8 (for comparative purpose)

To polyphosphoric acid (4 gram) was added (S)-1-(3-hydroxymethyl-2-pyridyl)-4-methyl-2-phenylpiperazine oxalic acid salt (1.32 g, 3.53 mmole). The reaction mixture was stirred at 130°C for 18 hours. To the reaction mixture were added water (22 ml), ethyl acetate (22 ml), and 33% sodium hydroxide solution (6.5 ml). The aqeous layer was separated and extracted twice with ethyl acetate (22 ml). The combined organic fractions were washed three times with water (22 ml), dried with MgSO₄ and evaporated. This gave 0.79 g of (S)-Mirtazapine (84%) with an e.e. of 83%.

Example 9 (for comparative purpose) Preparation of (S)-mirtazapine

To sulfuric acid (30.36 ml) at a temperature of 48 °C was added a solution of (S)-1-(3-hydroxymethyl-2-pyridyl)-4-methyl-2-phenylpiperazine (15.18 g, 51.05 mmole) in ethanol (30 ml). After 1 night an additional amount of sulfuric acid (30 ml) was added. After 4 hours the reaction was complete. Water (195 ml) was added followed by a sodium hydroxide solution (8.3 M) until a precipitate formed. The aqeous layer was extracted with ethyl acetate. The organic layer was subsequently washed with sodium hydroxide solution, then sodium chloride solution, dried with magnesium sulfate and evaporated. This yielded the title compound (7.97 g, 59%) with an e.e. of 62%.

Example 10 Provided for comparative purpose with non-suitable acid/solvent combination) Preparation of (S)-mirtazapine

Concentrated sulfuric acid (2.2 ml) was added to (S)-1-(3-hydroxymethyl-2-pyridyl)-4-methyl-2-phenylpiperazine (0.29 g, 1.03 mmole). Dichloromethane was added to form a dear solution. The dichloromethane was evaporated under reduced pressure at 40 °C. The reaction mixture was stirred at 48 °C. After 4 hours the reaction was complete. Sodium hydroxide solution (4 N) was added until an emulsion formed. The aqueous layer was extracted with diethyl ether. The diethyl ether was washed with water, dried with magnesium sulfate and evaporated. This gave the title compound (0.17 g, 62%) with an e.e. of 36%.

Claims (1)

1. A method for the preparation of an enantiomer of mirtazapine comprising less than 10 % of the other enantiomer, said method comprising a ring closure reaction of a compound of formula (II) wherein X is a leaving group, said reaction comprising treatment with an acid, characterized in that the mirtazapine with enantiomeric excess is formed by the ring closure reaction of an R- or S-enantiomer of the compound of formula (II) by treatment with an acid or acid/solvent combination selected from the list consisting of

   a) polyphosphoric acid in the absence of a solvent and whereby the weight ratio between polyphosphoric acid and the compound according to formula II is less than 2.5:1; or

   b) polyphosphoric acid in the presence of the solvent N-methylpyrrolidinone or DMF; or

   c) phosphorus pentoxide in the presence of the solvent N-methylpyrrolidinone.