A method for the inhibition of tumor metastases is described herein. The method makes use of the administration of certain castanospermine esters or their pharmaceutically acceptable salts.
Certain Castanospermine ester derivatives are disclosed to be effective in treating retroviral infections including HIV infections and are thus useful in the treatment of AIDS and ARC.
The present invention relates to a process for preparing a compound of formula (I): ##STR1## wherein R is C.sub.1 -C.sub.10 alkyl, phenyl or substituted phenyl, comprising treating a compound of formula (II): ##STR2## with bis(tributyltin) oxide in an organic solvent selected from the group consisting of o-xylene, m-xylene, p-xylene and mixed xylenes; and subsequently treating the reaction mixture with a compound of formula (III): ##STR3## wherein X is halogen and R is defined as above.
