To a degassed r.t. solution of 2-bromo-3-(4-(methylsulfonyl)-phenyl)-2-cyclopenten-1-one (0.315 g, 1.0 mmol), Pd2 (dba)3 (0.018 g, 0.02 mmol), and AsPh3 (0.049 g, 0.16 mmol) in NMP (2.5 mL) was added a degassed NMP solution (2.5 mL) of 5-trimethylstannanyl-2-methylpyridine (~2.0 mmol). The resulting mixture was heated to 60° C. for 16 hours, then to 100° C. for a further 3.5 h. The mixture was then cooled to r.t., diluted with EtOAc, washed 2 times with 10% NH4OH and brine, dried over MgSO4, and concentrated to dryness. The residue was purified by flash chromatography (100% EtOAc/hexanes) to provide 0.070 g of the title compound as a rigid foam.
