Process development and pilot-scale synthesis of cefotetan

Strategies that were adopted during the process development of Cefotetan in order to achieve a cost-effective commercial-scale synthesis are described herein. These included replacement of the trifluoroacetic acid used for cleavage of the benzhydryl ester and the development of an alternative synthetic route. This work led to improvement of both the impurity profile and the yield of the process. The pilot-scale synthesis of Cefotetan is described in detail in the Experimental Section. The scaled-up process has been successfully used for the commercial manufacture of Cefotetan since 1983.