Used as an intermediate in the synthesis of pharmaceutical compounds, particularly those featuring the [1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-a]pyridine core, which is prevalent in bioactive molecules exhibiting antimicrobial, antiviral, or central nervous system activities, as well as kinase inhibitors.

The tert-butyl ester and benzyloxy groups function as protecting groups, facilitating regioselective reactions during synthesis and enabling the efficient preparation of targeted derivatives. These groups are removed in final deprotection steps to obtain the active pharmaceutical agents.

Its structure supports the construction of complex heterocyclic systems crucial for drug discovery. Commonly employed in medicinal chemistry to enhance the solubility and stability of lead compounds. Also utilized in research to synthesize analogs for structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies.

Primarily serves a key role in pharmaceutical research and development, not as an end product, but in building lead compounds for biological screening.