Used as an intermediate in the synthesis of pharmaceutical compounds, particularly in the development of nicotinic receptor modulators and central nervous system agents. It serves as a building block for heterocyclic compounds with potential bioactivity in neurological disorders. Also applied in research for developing new anti-inflammatory and analgesic agents due to its structural similarity to known active scaffolds. Its keto and carboxylic acid functional groups allow for easy derivatization, making it valuable in medicinal chemistry for structure-activity relationship studies.