Nitrogen was bubbled through a mixture of ethyl 2-(5-acetamido-4-iodo-3-phenyl-pyrazol-1-yl)acetate (34.95 g, 84.58 mmol), phenyl acetylene (18.6 mL, 169.16 mmol), triethylamine (300 mL) and DMF (120 mL) for 1.5 h. Copper iodide (1.61 g, 8.46 mmol) and bis(triphenylphosphine)palladium(II) dichloride (3 g, 4.23 mmol) were added and the reaction mixture was stirred at 90° C. under nitrogen for 2 h. The reaction mixture was concentrated in vacuo, and the residue was co-evaporated with toluene to remove excess DMF. The residue was diluted with ethyl acetate (300 mL) and washed with water (2×100 mL). The organic phase was filtered through celite, washed with water and brine, dried (MgSO4), filtered and concentrated in vacuo. The residue was triturated from ethyl acetate, yielding the title compound as a solid (25.67 g).
