The 3-[(2,5-difluorophenyl)-hydroxymethyl]pyridine (87 mg, 0.39 mmol) obtained in Referential Example 11 was dissolved in thionyl chloride (1.0 ml). A catalytic amount of dimethylformamide was added to the resulting solution and the resulting mixture was stirred for 14 hours. The reaction mixture was concentrated under reduced pressure. To the residue was added dioxane and the resulting mixture was concentrated further. The residue thus obtained was dissolved in dimethylformamide (5 ml), followed by the addition of 4-chlorobenzenethiol (84 mg, 0.58 mmol) and potassium carbonate (323 mg, 2.34 mmol) under a nitrogen atmosphere. The resulting mixture was stirred at 50° C. for 1 hour. After the reaction mixture was cooled to room temperature, diethyl ether (50 ml) was added thereto. The resulting mixture was washed with water and brine. The organic layer was dried over magnesium sulfate and concentrated under reduced pressure. The residue thus obtained was subjected to silica gel chromatography (hexane:ethyl acetate=1:1) to give the title compound (131 mg, 96%) as an oil.
