Convergent Synthesis of Dronedarone, an Antiarrhythmic Agent.

We have developed a convergent synthesis of dronedarone, an antiarrhythmic agent. The key steps of the process are the construction of a benzofuran skeleton by iodocyclization and the carbonylative Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling for biaryl ketone formation. This synthetic route required only eight steps from 2-amino-4-nitrophenol in 23% overall yield.