A stirred mixture of (4-chloro-5-phenylthieno[2,3-d]pyrimidin-2-yl)acetic acid ethyl ester (0.36 g, 1.08 mmol), 2-aminomethylpyridine (0.12 ml, 1.19 mmol), triethylamine (0.17 ml, 1.19 mmol) and ethanol (8 ml) was heated under reflux for 4 hours. The solution was then cooled to ambient temperature, poured into water (100 ml) and extracted with dichloromethane (3×50 ml). The combined organic extracts were dried (MgSO4) and the solvent removed in vacuo to give the crude product. Purification by flash chromatography (silica) eluting with ethyl acetate and 40°-60° petroleum ether (1:2) gave {5-phenyl-4-[(pyridin-2-ylmethyl)amino]thieno[2,3-d]pyrimidin-2-yl}acetic acid ethyl ester as a colourless gum (0.41 g).
