To a solution of 5-bromo-2-fluoro-3-methyl-benzoic acid (697 mg, 2.99 mmol, 1.0 eq) and (3-fluorophenyl)boronic acid (502 mg, 3.59 mmol, 1.2 eq) in a mixture of EtOH (10 mL), dioxane (20 mL) and H2O (10 mL) were added K2CO3 (142 mg, 1.03 mmol, 2.5 eq) and Pd(PPh3)4 (345 mg, 0.30 mmol, 0.1 eq). The mixture was heated at 85° C. overnight. The reaction was quenched by addition of 1M HCl and the aqueous phase extracted with EtOAc. The organic extract was dried (MgSO4), filtered and evaporated in vacuo. The residue was purified by chromatography to give the title compound as a solid (558 mg, 73%).
