To a solution of 5-[[(4-fluorophenyl)thio](2,3,6-trifluorophenyl)methyl]-4-m ethylpyridine-2-carboxylic acid (163 mg, 0.40 mmol) obtained in Example 34 in methylene chloride (5 ml), 2-aminoethanol (0.027 ml, 0.44 mmol), 1-hydroxybenzotriazole (60 mg, 0.44 mmol), 4-methylmorpholine (0.048 ml, 0.44 mmol), and 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide hydrochloride (84 mg, 0.44 mmol) were added at room temperature. After stirring for 3 hours at room temperature, the reaction mixture was washed with water and then with saturated brine. The organic layer was dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate and filtered, then the filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure, and the obtained residue was subjected to flash silica gel chromatography. The fraction obtained from an elution with hexane:ethyl acetate=2:3 was concentrated under reduced pressure to obtain the title compound (175 mg, 0.39 mmol, 97%) as a colorless oily substance.
