Cetraxate
Cetraxate is an oral gastrointestinal medication which has a cytoprotective effect.
Synthesis
Cetraxate is a prodrug of tranexamic acid. The latter is a hemostatic agent because it inhibits the activation of plasminogen to plasmin. The result is to prevent excess loss of blood in gastrointestinal ulcers.The synthesis begins with the esterification of 3-propionic acid by trans-4-cyanocyclohexanecarbonyl chloride. The product is reduced to cetraxate by catalytic hydrogenation with hydrogen and Raney nickel.