A new and improved synthesis of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) agonist ragaglitazar applicable for large-scale preparation has been developed. The convergent synthetic procedure was based on a novel enzymatic kinetic resolution step. The conformation of ragaglitazar bound to the hPPARgamma receptor was quite different compared to the single-crystal structures of the l-arginine salt of ragaglitazar. In particular, the phenoxazine ring system had varying orientations. Ragaglitazar had high affinity for the hPPARalpha and -gamma receptors with IC(50) values of 0.98 and 0.092 microM, respectively. The lack of hPPARdelta activity could be explained by the absence of binding in the tail-up pocket in the hPPARdelta receptor, in contrast to the hPPARdelta agonist GW2433, which was able to bind in both the tail-up and tail-down pockets of the receptor.