A mixture of 4-((4-fluorobenzyl)oxy)pyridin-2(1H)-one (5 g), 6-bromo-2-ethyl-1-methyl-1H-benzimidazole (6.54 g), potassium carbonate (9.46 g), N,N′-dimethylethylenediamine (2.91 ml), copper iodide (1.3 g) and DMSO (100 ml) was stirred at 150° C. for 4 h. After cooling, the mixture was poured into 28% NH3 solution at 0° C. The precipitate was collected by filtration and dissolved in EtOAc/THF. The resulting solution was washed with brine, dried over MgSO4 and concentrated in vacuo. The residue was treated with activated carbon in MeOH, and recrystallized from MeOH/water to give the title compound (3.44 g) as a white solid.
