Used as a chiral building block in the synthesis of β-lactam antibiotics, particularly in the preparation of side chains for penicillins and cephalosporins. Its protected hydroxyl and amino groups allow selective reactions in multi-step organic syntheses. The Cbz group facilitates easy deprotection under mild conditions, making it valuable in peptide coupling and semisynthetic antibiotic development. Also employed in asymmetric synthesis due to its stereocenter, contributing to the production of optically active pharmaceuticals.