4-(2-Iodo-6-methyl-pyridin-3-yloxy)-6,7-dimethoxyquinoline (compound 116) (100 mg) was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran (7 ml) to prepare a solution which was then brought to −78° C. n-Butyllithium hexane solution (0.22 ml) was slowly added dropwise thereto, and the mixture was stirred at −78° C. for 20 min. 6-Methyl-2-pyridine-carbaldehyde (57 mg) was dissolved in tetrahydrofuran (7 ml) to prepare a solution which was then added dropwise to the reaction solution, followed by stirring at room temperature for 5 hr. Water was added to the reaction solution, and the mixture was extracted with ethyl acetate. The ethyl acetate layer was then washed with saturated brine and was dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate. The solvent was removed by distillation under the reduced pressure, and the residue was purified by thin layer chromatography using chloroform-acetone to give [3-(6,7-dimethoxy-quinolin-4-yloxy)-6-methyl-pyridin-2-yl]-(6-methyl-pyridin-2-yl)-methanol (73 mg, yield 73%).
