A mixture of 3.53 mmol 2-Iodo-5-methanesulfonyl-benzoic acid methyl ester, 3.88 mmol Phenyltri-n-butyltin, 0.25 mmol Tris(dibenzylideneacetone)dipalladium(0), 0.35 mmol Triphenylarsine and 1.62 mmol Copper iodide in N,N-Dimethylformamide (30 ml) was heated at 90° C. for 16 hours. The mixture was cooled to room temperature and concentrated in vacuo. The residue was chromatographed over SiO2 (ethyl acetate/heptane gradient) to provide the title compound (99%) as an off-white crystalline solid. MS (m/e): 291.0 (MH+, 100%)
