Methyl iodide → 4-(2,2-dimethylbutyl)-2-{2-[4-(5-fluoropyridin-2-yl)phenyl]-1-methoxyethyl}-N,N-dimethyl-1H-imidazole-1-sulfonamide

Sodium hydride (60 wt % in mineral oil) (50 mg, 1.25 mmol) was added to an ambient temperature solution of 4-(2,2-dimethylpropyl)-2-[1-hydroxy-2-(4-pyridin-2-ylphenyl)ethyl]-N,N-dimethyl-1H-imidazole-1-sulfonamide in N,N-dimethylformamide (for synthesis see example 11) (2 mL). After stirring at ambient temperature for 20 min, methyl iodide (50 μL, 0.8 mmol) was added. After stirring at ambient temperature for a further 2 h, the reaction mixture was quenched with saturated aqueous ammonium chloride and extracted with diethyl ether. The combined ethereal layers were dried (magnesium sulfate) and concentrated in vacuo to afford 4-(2,2-dimethylbutyl)-2-{2-[4-(5-fluoropyridin-2-yl)phenyl]-1-methoxyethyl}-N,N-dimethyl-1H-imidazole-1-sulfonamide which was used in the subsequent step without further purification.