Used as a key intermediate in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals, particularly in the development of centrally acting agents targeting neurological disorders. Its structural features allow for selective interaction with neurotransmitter receptors, making it valuable in the creation of drugs for depression, anxiety, and cognitive enhancement. The presence of functional groups like hydroxymethyl and protected amine (carboxylate) enables further chemical modifications, facilitating the production of diverse analogs for structure-activity relationship studies. Commonly employed in medicinal chemistry research for optimizing bioavailability and receptor binding affinity.