Used as a chiral building block in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals, particularly in the development of bioactive molecules requiring stereochemical control. Its hydroxyl and carboxylate functionalities allow for selective derivatization, making it valuable in medicinal chemistry for constructing complex piperidine-based structures. Commonly employed in the preparation of protease inhibitors and central nervous system agents due to its conformationally restricted scaffold and functional group compatibility with peptide-like frameworks.