Hydrocinchonine is primarily used in the pharmaceutical industry as a chiral building block for the synthesis of various drugs. It plays a significant role in the development of antimalarial medications due to its structural similarity to quinine, which is effective against malaria. Additionally, it is utilized in asymmetric synthesis to produce enantiomerically pure compounds, which are crucial for creating drugs with specific biological activity. Its application extends to research and development in organic chemistry, where it serves as a valuable reagent for studying stereochemistry and catalytic processes.