A mixture of methyl (4-{[4-(2-tert-butylphenyl)piperazin-1-yl]carbonyl}-1H-imidazol-1-yl)acetate (Example 187, 0.34 g, 0.87 mmol) and 1M LiOH solution (5 mL, 5.0 mmol) in tetrahydrofuran (5 mL) was stirred at 0° C. for 2 h. The reaction mixture was acidified with 1 M HCl solution and extracted with ethyl acetate. The extract was washed with brine, dried over anhydrous magnesium sulfate, filtered and concentrated under reduced pressure to give the title compound (0.34 g, quant.) as a white powder.
