A mixture of 4′-[(2-ethyl-6-oxo-4-propyl-1,6-dihydropyrimidin-5-yl)methyl]biphenyl-2-carbonitrile (3.0 g), phenylboronic acid (2.1 g), copper(II) acetate (3.1 g), pyridine (3.1 mL), triethylamine (3.4 mL), molecular sieves 4 A (6.0 g) and dichloromethane (60 mL) was stirred for 2 days. The reaction mixture was diluted with ethyl acetate, and the insoluble material was filtered off. The filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure, and the residue was purified by silica gel column chromatography to give the title compound (3.6 g, 100%) as a pale-yellow liquid.
