General Procedure J. 2-Bromomethylpyridine.HBr salt (7.0 g, 27.7 mmol) was treated with NaOH (4M, 6.9 ml, 27.6 mmol) in Et2O (20 ml). The ether layer was separated, washed with brine, and dried over MgSO4, filtered into a flask containing a suspension of methyl3-formyl-6-methoxy-1H-indole-2-carboxylate (Compound 90, 1.29 g, 5.54 mmol) and K2CO3 (2.3 g, 16.6 mmol) in DMF (25 ml). The reaction was stirred at 60° C. for 3 h, cooled to room temperature, quenched with H2O and extracted with EtOAc (×2). The combined organic layer was washed with brine, dried over Na2SO4, and concentrated in vacuo. The residue was purified by washing with H2O (×3) and filtration to yield the title compound as a golden brown solid.
