To a methanol (10 ml) solution of 2-amino-4′-tert-butoxycarbonylaminomethyl-5-chlorobenzophenone (0.9 g) was added sodium borohydride (0.28 g). The mixture was stirred for 30 minutes at room temperature, to which was added acetic acid ethyl ester (100 ml). The mixture was washed with water and dried over anhydrous Na2SO4. The solvent was then distilled off, and the residue was purified by means of a silica gel column chromatography to give the object 2-amino-5-chloro-α-(4-tert-butoxycarbonylaminomethylphenyl)benzyl alcohol (0.85 g) as a colorless oily product.
