Benzylamine (38.6 mL, 0.353 mol) was added in one portion to a stirred solution of racemic 2-{2-[5-fluoro-2-(methyloxy)phenyl]-2-methylpropyl}-2-(trifluoromethyl)oxirane (which may be prepared according to WO 04/063163, 50 g, 0.171 mol) in ethanol (500 mL) at 20° C. and the resulting mixture heated at 80° C. overnight. The solvent was removed under reduced pressure and the resulting oil was purified by silica gel column chromatography eluting with 4% ethyl acetate in cyclohexane to give the title compound as a white solid (65.1 g).
