Used as a chiral building block in the synthesis of complex pharmaceuticals, particularly in the development of protease inhibitors. Its protected hydroxyl and carboxyl groups allow selective reactions in multi-step organic syntheses. The silyl ether group provides stability under various reaction conditions and can be removed selectively to reveal the alcohol functionality when needed. Commonly employed in asymmetric synthesis due to the defined stereochemistry at the 2 and 4 positions of the pyrrolidine ring, making it valuable for constructing stereochemically complex drug molecules.