Used as a chiral building block in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals, particularly in the development of protease inhibitors and other bioactive molecules. Its protected pyrrolidine structure with a ketone functionality allows for selective transformations in multi-step organic syntheses. Commonly employed in asymmetric synthesis due to the stability of the tert-butyl ester groups and the defined stereochemistry, enabling high enantioselectivity in final products. Also utilized in the preparation of cyclic peptides and peptidomimetics for drug discovery research.