Used as a key intermediate in the synthesis of fluoroquinolone antibiotics, this compound plays an important role in pharmaceutical development due to the presence of the trifluoromethyl group, which enhances biological activity, metabolic stability, and membrane permeability. Its structure supports the construction of quinolone cores found in antimicrobial agents targeting DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV. Additionally, it serves as a building block in medicinal chemistry for developing compounds with antibacterial, antifungal, and anticancer properties. The hydroxy and ester functionalities allow for further chemical modifications, enabling the creation of diverse derivatives for structure-activity relationship studies.