A mixture of 4-(4-fluorophenyl)-3-[4-(methylsulfonyl)phenyl]-5-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrazole (Example 1, step 3)(0.10 g), 4.2 g of bromoacetonitrile and 3 mL of toluene was heated at reflux for 2 hours. Toluene was distilled off and the mixture was heated at 190° C. for 24 hours. The reaction mixture was diluted with methylene chloride and filtered through silica gel. The filtrate was concentrated in vacuo and the residue was purified by HPLC (30% ethyl acetate-hexane). The second fraction eluted with 40% ethyl acetate-hexane yielding 1-cyanomethyl-4-(4-fluorophenyl)-3-[4-(methylsulfonyl)phenyl]-5-(trifluoromethyl)-1H-pyrazole (1 2 mg, 11%): mp 192°-194° C.
