Used as a chiral building block in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals, particularly in the development of protease inhibitors and other bioactive molecules. Its protected amine and carboxylate groups allow for selective reactions in multi-step organic syntheses. The stereochemistry (2S,4R) makes it valuable for creating enantiomerically pure compounds, especially in drug discovery targeting viral infections and metabolic disorders. Commonly employed in peptide mimetics and as an intermediate in the preparation of kinase inhibitors.