An 18-mL vial was charged with methyl 4-[[2-(3-chlorophenyl)-6,7-dihydro-5H-cyclopenta[b]pyridin-4-yl]amino]benzoate (20 mg, 0.053 mmol, 1 eq.) and LiOH/H2O (47.4 mg, 1.13 mmol, 21 eq.). THF (1 ml), H2O (0.3 ml) and MeOH (0.2 ml) was added to the vial. The resulting mixture was stirred at room temperature overnight. 2 N HCl aq. (0.5 ml) was added and the volatile material was removed under reduced pressure. The residue was purified by chromatography on silica gel using 5% of methanol in dichloromethane as eluent to give 4-[[2-(3-chlorophenyl)-6,7-dihydro-5H-cyclopenta[b]pyridin-4-yl]amino]benzoic acid (4.8 mg, 25% yield). MW=364.82. 1H NMR (DMSO-D6, 360 MHz) δ 8.65 (s, 1H), 7.96 (s, 1H), 7.86 (m, 3H), 7.42 (m, 3H), 7.25 (d, J=8.31 Hz, 2H), 2.92 (t, J=7.86, 2H), 2.82 (t, J=6.93, 2H), 2.06 (m, 2H).
