An improved and efficient synthesis of Irbesartan, an antihypertensive drug

Development of a new improved and efficient process suitable for the large-scale production of Irbesartan has been described. The key steps are tetrazole formation from secondary amide for the preparation of the key intermediate 1-Benzyl-5-(4'-bromomethyl-biphenyl-2-yl)-1H-tetrazole (9), N-alkylation and debenzylation.