To a solution of 3-ethoxy-4-iodo-benzoic acid ethyl ester (0.76 g, 2.37 mmol, 1.0 equiv; [CAS RN 741699-04-7], prepared according to WO 04/072 016 A1 (Kissei Pharmaceuticals Co, Ltd.)) in anhydrous DMF (12 mL) under Ar was added 4-fluorophenyl boronic acid (0.40 g, 2.85 mmol, 1.2 equiv), K3PO4 (0.86 g, 4.04 mmol, 1.7 equiv) and tetrakis(triphenylphosphine) palladium(0) (82.3 mg, 0.071 mmol, 0.03 equiv) and the reaction mixture stirred at 80° C. for 16 h. The reaction mixture was poured on ice, extracted with ethyl acetate (2×100 mL) and the combined organic phases washed with water (2×100 mL). The organic phase was dried over MgSO4, concentrated by evaporation under reduced pressure and the crude reaction product purified with column chromatography on silica eluting with hexane/ethyl acetate (95:5) to give 0.51 g (75%) of the title compound.
