To a mixture of 8-(benzyloxy)-2-(4-fluorophenyl)-3-iodoimidazo[1,2-a]pyridine (0.15 g, 0.35 mmol) and dichlorobis(triphenylphosphine)palladium(II) (30 mg, 0.0035 mmol) in toluene (3 mL) was added 2-(methylsulfanyl)-4-(tributylstannyl)pyrimidine (0.19 g, 0.46 mmol). The mixture was heated to 110° C. in a sealed tube for 16 hours. The reaction was allowed to cool and was diluted with ethyl acetate before being poured into a 10% aqueous potassium fluoride solution. The mixture was extracted with ethyl acetate. The organic phase was concentrated and the residue purified by silica chromatography, eluting with dichloromethane and then 5% acetone in dichloromethane to yield 60 mg (39%) of 8-(benzyloxy)-2-(4-fluorophenyl)-3-[2-(methylsulfanyl)pyrimidin-4-yl]imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine. 1H NMR (CDCl3): δ 9.18 (d, 1H), 8.33 (d, 1H), 7.68 (dd, 2H), 7.54 (2H), 7.41 (m, 3H), 7.16 (t, 2H), 6.83 (m, 2H), 6.70 (d, 1H), 5.46 (s, 2H), 2.67 (s, 3H). MS m/z 443 (M+1).
