A mixture of potassium phosphate tribasic (0.244 g), methyl 6-(benzenesulphonylmethyl)-3-(furan-3-yl)-2-(trifluoromethanesulphonyloxy)benzoate (Intermediate 123, 0.2 g) in THF (2 ml) and water (1 ml) was sealed in a microwave vial and degassed with argon. Palladium (II) chloride dppf complexed with DCM (0.02 g) and triethylborane (0.29 ml) were added and the mixture was heated in the microwave at 140° C. for 15 minutes. After cooling, ethyl acetate and water were added and the organic layer was separated, washed with brine, dried (MgSO4) and filtered. The filtrate was evaporated to dryness and the residue was purified by chromatography on silica eluting with a mixture of ethyl acetate and cyclohexane with a gradient of 10-18% to give methyl 6-(benzenesulphonylmethyl)-2-ethyl-3-(furan-3-yl)benzoate (0.092 g) as a white solid.
