Ethyl 2-methylnicotinate → (2-Methylpyridin-3-yl)methanol

Ethyl 2-methylnicotinate 18-1 (257 mg) was mixed with dichloromethane (4 ml) and to the mixture at −78° C. was added dropwise 1 M diisobutyl aluminium hydride (4 ml), followed by siring for 1 hour. The reaction was quenched with methanol and to the mixture was added aqueous Rochel solution (20 ml), followed by stirring for 2 hours. The resulting mixture was extracted with dichloromethane, dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate, and concentrated under reduced pressure. The residue was column-chromatographed (ethyl acetate/hexane=1/1) to yield the compound 18-2 (166 mg, 87%).