4-Bromopyridine or hydrochloride salt thereof was dissolved in DME under argon and Pd(Ph3P)4 (3 mol %) was added. The mixture was stirred for 10 min at 50° C. To this solution was added (commercially available) 5-bromo-2,3-dihydrobenzo[b]furan-7-boronic acid dissolved in a minimum amount of EtOH/DME 1:2 followed by 2N Na2CO3. The reaction mixture was refluxed (110° C.) under stirring for 2 h. The flask was cooled to RT, the mixture was treated with sat. aq. NH4Cl solution and extracted with CHCl3. Evaporation and purification by SiO2 gel chromatography (hexane/ethyl acetate: 4/1) gave the title compound in 76% yield.
