1 N HCl solution in ethyl acetate (1 ml) was added to a solution of {2-[2,3-difluoro-4-(2-fluoro-4-iodo-phenylamino)-5-(2-hydroxy-ethoxycarbamoyl)-benzylideneaminooxy]-ethyl}-carbamic acid tert-butyl ester (55 mg, 0.31 mmol) prepared in Process A in ethyl acetate (5 ml). This mixture was then stirred at room temperature for 1.5 hours. After the completion of the reaction, the reaction solution was neutralized with saturated sodium bicarbonate solution (50 ml) and extracted with ethyl acetate (100 ml×3). The extract was washed with saturated brine, and the organic layer was dried over anhydrous sodium sulfate and filtered. The solvent was evaporated off under reduced pressure, and the resulting residue was washed with diethyl ether (10 ml) and then recrystallized from methanol to give 5-[(2-amino-ethoxyimino)-methyl]-3,4-difluoro-2-(2-fluoro-4-iodo-phenylamino)-N-(2-hydroxy-ethoxy)-benzamide (17.31 mg, 37% yield) as a pale yellow solid.
