To a suspension of sodium hydride (60 wt % in oil, 103 mg, 2.57 mmol) in DMF (5 mL) was added a solution of (3R,4aR,12bS)-9-(4-fluorophenyl)-3-hydroxy-3-(trifluoromethyl)-1,2,3,4,4a,5,6,7,9,12b-decahydrobenzo[6,7]cyclohepta[1,2-f]indazole-12b-carbonitrile (32, R1=4-Fluorophenyl, R3=Trifluoromethyl) (760 mg, 1.71 mmol) in DMF (15 mL) at a dropwise rate. The reaction was stirred for about 10 min at rt, then (bromomethyl)benzene (0.26 mL, 2.14 mmol) was added. The mixture was stirred for about 1 h. Solvents were removed under reduced pressure. The residue was dissolved in DCM (50 mL) and washed with water (25 mL). The organic layer was dried over Na2SO4, filtered and concentrated onto silica gel (10 g). The crude product was purified on silica gel (40 g) using a gradient of 20-40% EtOAc in heptane. Product fractions were combined and concentrated under reduced pressure to yield (3R,4aR,12bS)-3-(benzyloxy)-9-(4-fluorophenyl)-3-(trifluoromethyl)-1,2,3,4,4a,5,6,7,9,12b-decahydrobenzo[6,7]cyclohepta[1,2-f]indazole-12b-carbonitrile (33, R1=4-Fluorophenyl, R3=Trifluoromethyl, Rx=Benzyl) (890 mg, 97%) as a white solid; LC/MS, method 3, Rt=3.08 min, MS m/z 534 (M+H)+, 1H NMR (400 MHz, DMSO) δ 8.35 (d, J=0.8 Hz, 1H), 8.12 (s, 1H), 7.86-7.78 (m, 2H), 7.71 (s, 1H), 7.48-7.29 (m, 7H), 4.80-4.66 (m, 2H), 3.41-3.31 (m, 1H), 3.13-3.01 (m, 1H), 2.74-2.62 (m, 1H), 2.61-2.51 (m, 1H), 2.29-2.22 (m, 1H), 2.18-1.93 (m, 4H), 1.89-1.70 (m, 3H), 1.42-1.27 (m, 1H).
