This compound serves as a critical intermediate in medicinal chemistry, particularly in the synthesis of antiviral pharmaceuticals such as Remdesivir (GS-5734). Its structure consists of a 4-chloro-3-(4-ethoxybenzyl)phenyl methanone attached to a stereospecifically protected furanose moiety ((3aS,5R,6S,6aS)-6-hydroxy-2,2-dimethyltetrahydrofuro[2,3-d][1,3]dioxol-5-yl), mimicking a ribose derivative. This enables the construction of nucleoside analogs targeting viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerases, effective against coronaviruses and other RNA viruses. The defined stereochemistry and functional groups facilitate selective modifications, optimizing drug potency, selectivity, and pharmacokinetics. It is widely used in industrial-scale production and academic research for structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies in antiviral drug discovery.