A suspension of 5-{5-[4-(benzyloxy)phenyl]-3-hydroxy-1H-pyrazol-1-yl}-2-methoxypyridine (800 mg), dimethyl carbonate (0.9 mg) and potassium carbonate (888 mg) in DMF (8 ml) was stirred at 120° C. for 5 hours. The mixture was poured into ice water and extracted with AcOEt. The organic layer was washed with H2O, saturated aqueous sodium chloride solution, dried over magnesium sulfate, and concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by silica gel column chromatography eluted with AcOEt/n-hexane=30% to give 5-{5-[4-(benzyloxy)phenyl]-3-methoxy-1H-pyrazol-1-yl}-2-methoxy-pyridine (1.069 g) as a solid.
