(S)-2-Amino-2-cyclohexylacetic acid hydrochloride is primarily used in the pharmaceutical industry as a chiral building block for the synthesis of various active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). Its enantiomeric purity makes it valuable in the development of drugs that require specific stereochemistry for efficacy, such as certain antiviral, antibacterial, and central nervous system (CNS) agents. Additionally, it serves as a key intermediate in the production of peptide-based therapeutics, where its structural properties contribute to the stability and biological activity of the final compounds. In research, it is utilized in the study of enzyme mechanisms and receptor interactions due to its ability to mimic natural amino acids in biochemical pathways.