Used primarily in pharmaceutical research as a key intermediate in the synthesis of targeted protein degraders, particularly cereblon E3 ligase modulators. This thalidomide analog enables selective binding to cereblon (CRBN), leading to the ubiquitination and degradation of target proteins such as IKZF1 and IKZF3, making it valuable in developing PROTACs (proteolysis-targeting chimeras) for cancer therapy, including multiple myeloma, and inflammatory diseases. The iodine moiety allows for further functionalization via cross-coupling reactions, facilitating the creation of diverse compound libraries for drug discovery. Also employed in studies involving molecular glues and immunomodulatory agents (IMiDs) due to its ability to alter substrate specificity of E3 ubiquitin ligase complexes, and in treating certain types of anemia.