A stirred solution of 2-fluoro-4-methoxybenzoic acid (0.23 g, 1.34 mmol) in thionyl chloride (7 ml) containing a drop of DMF was heated under reflux for 4 h. The excess reagent was then removed under reduced pressure to give a crude solid. The amide was prepared as described in the Amide Coupling section using the crude solid and 4-(6-methylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridin-2-yl)aniline (0.30 g, 1.34 mmol) in dry pyridine (15 ml) to give the title compound (0.323 g, 80%) as a colourless solid after work-up and flash chromatography (EtOAc).
