(S)-Ethyl 4-(4-((4′-chlorobiphenyl-2-yl)(hydroxy)methyl)piperidin-1-yl)benzoate (INTERMEDIATE 11B, 150.0 mg, 0.33 mmol) was dissolved in THF (6.0 ml) and methanol (1.4 ml). A solution of LiOH (40.6 mg) in water (1.4 ml) was added. The solution was heated at 500 overnight. The reaction mixture was allowed to cool to room temperature and then concentrated under reduced pressure. The residue was diluted with water (5 ml), acidified with 1N aq. HCl (2.0 ml), and extracted with DCM (2×5 ml). The extract was dried (MgSO4), filtered through cotton, and evaporated under vacuum to provide the title product as a substantially separated enantiomer (155 mg, yield: almost quantitative) 1H NMR (400 MHz, DICHLOROMETHANE-d2) δ ppm 0.79-0.94 (m, 1H) 0.98-1.12 (m, 1H) 1.14-1.40 (m, 4H) 2.04 (m, 1H) 2.67 (td, J=12.51, 2.78 Hz, 1H) 2.78 (td, 1H) 3.74 (d, 1H) 3.91 (m, 1H) 4.48 (d, 1H) 6.81 (d, 2H) 7.17-7.29 (m, 3H) 7.31-7.49 (m, 4H) 7.61 (dd, 1H) 7.84-7.93 (m, 2H).
