To a suspension of 2′-methoxy-4′-[(2-methyl-6-oxo-4-propyl-1,6-dihydropyrimidin-5-yl)methyl]biphenyl-2-carbonitrile (1.00 g), (4-isopropoxyphenyl)boronic acid (1.00 g), triethylamine (1.3 mL), pyridine (2.5 mL) and molecular sieves 4 A (2.50 g) in dichloromethane (30 mL) was added copper(II) acetate (0.98 g) and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 2 days. The reaction mixture was diluted with ethyl acetate, the insoluble material was filtered off through celite, and the filtrate was concentrated. The residue was purified by silica gel column chromatography. The crudely purified product was added to a mixture of hydroxylammonium chloride (2.05 g), sodium hydrogen carbonate (3.31 g) and dimethyl sulfoxide (10 mL), which had been stirred at 40° C. for 30 min, and the mixture was stirred at 90° C. for 18 hr. The reaction mixture was allowed to cool to room temperature, ethyl acetate and water were added, and the mixture was extracted with ethyl acetate. The organic layer was washed with saturated brine and dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate. The solvent was evaporated and the residue was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran (10 mL). N,N′-carbonyldiimidazole (0.48 g) and then 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (0.45 mL) were added, and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 3 hr. The reaction mixture was diluted with ethyl acetate, washed with 1 M hydrochloric acid and then with saturated brine, and dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate. The solvent was evaporated under reduced pressure and the residue was purified by silica gel column chromatography to give the title compound as colorless crystals (0.88 g, 58%).
