To a solution of 5-[(2,5-difluorophenyl)[[6-(trifluoromethyl)pyridin-3-yl]thio]methyl]-4-methylpyridine-2-carboxylic acid (132 mg, 0.30 mmol) obtained in Example 26 in methylene chloride (5 ml), 2-aminoethanol (0.020 ml, 0.33 mmol), 1-hydroxybenzotriazole (45 mg, 0.33 mmol), 4-methylmorpholine (0.036 ml, 0.33 mmol) and 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide hydrochloride (63 mg, 0.33 mmol) were added at room temperature. After stirring for 6 hours at room temperature, the reaction mixture was washed with 0.5 N hydrochloric acid. The organic layer was dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate and filtered, then the filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure, and the resulting residue was subjected to flash silica gel chromatography. The fraction obtained from an elution with hexane:ethyl acetate=1:1 was concentrated under reduced pressure to obtain the title compound (143 mg, 0.30 mmol, 99%) as a colorless oily substance.
