We are happy to share our most recent work with collaborators from Pfizer Oncology Medicinal Chemistry, appearing today as a pre-print in ChemRxiv, where we describe a versatile approach to carbo- and heterocycle synthesis from unactivated alkenes and ambiphilic organohalides. Under Pd(II)/Pd(IV) catalysis, the Wacker-type mechanism leads to net anti addition, which is distinct from classical Larock-type couplings. In this study, we systematically map structure–reactivity trends of the ambiphile, leading to unprecedented breath of reaction partners that can be employed. Congrats to everyone at Scripps (Hui-Qi, Phillippa, and Pranali), and Pfizer (Shouliang, Fen, Neal, Joyann, Michelle, and Indra) for a great team effort!

For a link to the pre-print, click here: https://chemrxiv.org/engage/chemrxiv/article-details/6172bcd10c0480fd773f44a4