To a stirred solution of 3-hydrazino-4-methyl-benzoic acid hydrochloride 1 (Example 3A, 314 mg, 1.54 mmol, 1.0 eq) in 50 mL of ethanol and 5 mL of methanol was added 2-(3-iodo-benzoyl)-3-phenylamino-acrylonitrile 2 (579 mg, 1.54 mmol, preparation: International Patent Application Publication No. WO 02/57101 A1, pg. 84). The mixture was heated to 75° C. for 18 h. The precipitated solids were collected on a fritted filter and were washed with ethanol to provide 3-[5-Amino-4-(3-iodo-benzoyl)-pyrazol-1-yl]-4-methyl-benzoic acid 3 (153 mg, 22%) as a white solid. MS m/z 448 [M+H]+; 1H NMR (300 MHz, DMSO-d6)<2.18 (s, 3H), 7.05 (bs, 2H), 7.34 (dd, J1=J2=7.7 Hz), 7.58 (d, J=8.1 Hz, 1H), 7.78 (s, 1H), 7.81 (m, 2H), 7.94 (m, 1H), 7.98 (m, 1H), 8.03 (m, 1H) ppm.
