Biocatalytic synthesis of some chiral pharmaceutical intermediates by lipases

Chiral intermediates were prepared by biocatalytic processes for the chemical synthesis of three pharmaceutical drug candidates. These include (i) the synthesis of [(3 R‐cis )‐3‐(acetyloxy)‐4‐phenyl‐2‐azetidinone 2 for the semi‐synthesis of paclitaxel (taxol) 5 , an anticancer compound; (ii) synthesis of chiral (exo,exo)‐7‐oxabicyclo [2.2.1] heptane‐2,3‐dimenthanol monoacetate ester 9 for the chemoenzymatic preparation of a thromboxane A 2 antagonist; (iii) the enzymatic synthesis of S ‐(−) 3‐benzylthio‐2‐methylpropanoic acid, a key chiral intermediate for the synthesis of antihypertensive drugs captopril 10 or zofenopril 13 .