To a solution of 2-chloro-5-nitropyridine (1.00 g, 6.35 mmol) and N-(4-chloro-3-hydroxyphenyl)-3-(1-cyano-1-methylethyl)benzamide (2.00 g, 6.35 mmol) in N,N-dimethylformamide (15 mL) was added potassium carbonate (1.31 g, 9.52 mmol), and the mixture was stirred at 70° C. for 16 hr. The reaction mixture was cooled to room temperature, the insoluble material was filtered off, and the filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure. Water (100 mL) was added to the obtained residue, and the mixture was twice extracted with ethyl acetate (50 mL)/hexane (50 mL). The combined organic layer was washed with water (150 mL) and saturated brine (150 mL), and dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate. The insoluble material was filtered off, the filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure, and the obtained residue was purified by basic silica gel column chromatography (ethyl acetate). The obtained solution was concentrated under reduced pressure to give the title compound (2.57 g, 93%) as a yellow oil.
