A mixture of 4-bromo-5-fluoro-1H-indazole (D15) (1.008 g, 4.69 mmol), {3-fluoro-4-[(phenylmethyl)oxy]phenyl}boronic acid 1.730 g, 7.03 mmol), copper(II) acetate (1.277 g, 7.03 mmol) and pyridine (0.758 mL, 0.742 g, 9.38 mmol) were stirred together vigorously under an air atmosphere with powdered 4A molecular sieves (5 g) at room temperature. After 6 days another 580 mg of boronic acid were added and stirring continued for a further 24 hrs. The mixture was filtered through celite, the celite was washed with dichloromethane and the combined filtrate was washed with water, dried over Na2SO4 and evaporated. Chromatography (silica gel, 0-100% dichloromethane in isohexane), followed by trituration of the product with diethyl ether gave the title compound (D16) (0.968 g) as a white solid.
