A mixture of 2-bromo-3-[2-[2-(5-methyl-2-phenyl-4-oxazolyl)ethoxy]-5-pyridyl]propionitrile (4.5 g), lithium bromide (LiBr) (1.14 g), lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) (2.17 g) and N,N-dimethylformamide (50 ml) was stirred for 2.5 hours at 120° C. The reaction mixture was poured into water, which was subjected to extraction with ethyl acetate. The ethyl acetate layer was washed with water and dried (MgSO4), then the solvent was distilled off under reduced pressure to leave (E)-3-[2-[2-(5-methyl-2-phenyl-4-oxazolyl)ethoxy]-5-pyridyl]acrylonitrile (3.2, 89%), which was recrystallized from ethyl acetate--hexane to give pale yellow crystals, m.p.116°-117° C.
