Access to pyridines via cascade nucleophilic addition reaction of 1,2,3-triazines with activated ketones or acetonitriles

We studied the cascade nucleophilic addition reactions of 1,2,3-triazines with activated acetonitriles or ketones, which were used to construct highly substituted pyridines that are not easily accessed by conventional methods. The strategy addressed some structural diversity issues currently facing medicinal chemistry, and the resulting pyridines could be used as convenient precursors for the synthesis of related pharmaceuticals. In particular, our method was applied to the syntheses of the marketed drug etoricoxib and several biologically important molecules in a few steps.