Used as a key intermediate in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals, particularly in the development of kinase inhibitors and antiviral agents. It serves as a building block in medicinal chemistry due to its reactive carbonyl groups, enabling derivatization for structure-activity relationship studies. Also employed in the preparation of indirubin analogs, which show potential in cancer research for their ability to modulate cell cycle progression. Its chloro and keto functionalities allow for selective modifications, making it valuable in combinatorial chemistry and drug discovery pipelines.