The N-((2-chloro-6-(trifluoromethyl)pyridin-3-yl)methyl)-2-(3-fluoro-4-(methylsulfonamidomethyl)phenyl)propanamide (100 mg, 0.214 mmol) was added to a mixture of 1.2 mL toluene-ethanol (8:2). After addition of (phenylboranediyl)dimethanol (39 mg, 0.324 mmol), 0.2 mL 2 M aqueous sodium carbonate solution and tetrakis(triphenylphosphine)palladium (0) (25 mg) the mixture was heated at 100° C. for 1 h in a microwave. The reaction mixture was free from oxygen by evacuating and flushing with nitrogen. After cooling to room temperature the reaction mixture was diluted with 15 mL water, extracted with ethyl acetate (2×15 mL), dried over magnesium sulfate and concentrated under reduced pressure. The solid obtained was purified by column chromatography (silica gel: 100-200 mesh, eluent: cyclohexane/ethyl acetate 2:3) to afford 2-(3-fluoro-4-(methylsulfonamidomethyl)phenyl)-N-((2-phenyl-6-(trifluoromethyl)pyridin-3-yl)methyl)propanamide (example 5) (92 mg, 84%).
