Identification, Synthesis, and Characterization of Potential Oxidative Impurities of Venetoclax: Application of Meisenheimer Rearrangement.

Venetoclax is a potent BCL-2 inhibitor that is used for the treatment of several blood cancers. During the oxidative stress degradation of venetoclax, we observed the formation of two potential impurities at levels of about 8-10%, which have similar molecular weights. The two impurities were isolated and identified as 4-(3-((1-pyrrolo[2,3-]pyridin-5-yl)oxy)-4-(((3-nitro-4-(((tetrahydro-2-pyran-4-yl)methyl)amino)phenyl)sulfonyl)carbamoyl)phenyl)-1-((4'-chloro-5,5-dimethyl-3,4,5,6-tetrahydro-[1,1'-biphenyl]-2-yl)methyl)piperazine 1-oxide (venetoclax -oxide, ) and 2-((1-pyrrolo[2,3-]pyridin-5-yl)oxy)-4-(4-((4'-chloro-5,5-dimethyl-3,4,5,6-tetrahydro-[1,1'-biphenyl]-2-yl)methoxy)piperazin-1-yl)--((3-nitro-4-(((tetrahydro-2-pyran-4-yl)methyl)amino)phenyl)sulfonyl)benzamide (venetoclax hydroxylamine impurity, ).