To a solution of 3-(2,4-dichloro-pyrimidin-5-yl)-2-(4-methoxy-phenyl)-propionic acid methyl ester (341 mg, 1.0 mmol) (from Example 1d supra) in n-butanol (10 mL) was added aniline (200 mg, 2.15 mmol) (Aldrich) followed by N,N-diisopropylethylamine (258 mg, 2.0 mmol) (Aldrich) and the reaction mixture was heated at 100° C. for 12 hours. After cooling, the reaction mixture was diluted with ethyl acetate (100 mL) and successively washed with saturated aqueous ammonium chloride solution (30 mL), water (30 mL) and brine (30 mL), dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate, filtered, and concentrated in vacuo. The crude product was purified by flash column chromatography (silica gel) to give 3-(4-chloro-2-phenylamino-pyrimidin-5-yl)-2-(4-methoxy-phenyl)-propionic acid methyl ester. (Yield 45.1 mg, 11.3%).
