Used as a chiral building block in the synthesis of pharmaceutical intermediates, particularly in the development of protease inhibitors. The tert-butyl ester protects the side-chain carboxylic acid, while the free amino group and alpha-methyl substitution enable selective reactions in peptide-like structures, making it valuable in medicinal chemistry for creating stereoselective drugs. Commonly employed in research settings for designing enzyme inhibitors where stereochemistry plays a critical role in biological activity.