Used as a key intermediate in the synthesis of phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitors, particularly PDE5 inhibitors which are important in the treatment of erectile dysfunction and pulmonary arterial hypertension. It serves as a core scaffold in the development of various pharmaceutical agents due to its ability to mimic purine bases, allowing it to interact with enzyme active sites involved in signal transduction pathways. Its derivatives are also explored in anticancer and anti-inflammatory drug research owing to their modulation of kinase activity and cellular proliferation. Commonly employed in medicinal chemistry for structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies to optimize drug potency and selectivity.