A solution of (6-bromo-[1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-a]pyridin-3-yl)(4-(3-fluoro-2-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)piperidin-1-yl)methanone (87 mg, 0.19 mmol) and zinc cyanide (43 mg, 037 mmol) in DMF (2.0 mL) was sparged with Ar for 10 min. To the solution was added Pd(PPh3)4 (21 mg, 0.019 mmol) the vessel was sealed and heated to 130° C. with microwaves for 30 min. The mixture was diluted with saturated sodium bicarbonate solution (30 mL) and extracted with EtOAc (3×30 mL). The combined organic extracts were concentrated to dryness under reduced pressure. The resulting residue was chromatographed over silica gel (Isco CombiFlash Rf unit, 12 g Redisep column, 0% to 70% EtOAc in hexanes) and freeze dried to provide 3-(4-(3-fluoro-2-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)piperidine-1-carbonyl)-[1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-a]pyridine-6-carbonitrile as a white solid (52 mg, 67%): mp 188-190° C.; 1H NMR (500 MHz, DMSO-d6) δ 9.54-9.51 (m, 1H), 8.13 (dd, J=9.5, 1.0 Hz, 1H), 7.81 (dd, J=9.5, 1.5 Hz, 1H), 7.71-7.65 (m, 1H), 7.48 (d, J=8.0 Hz, 1H), 7.32 (dd, J=12.5, 8.5 Hz, 1H), 5.17-5.09 (m, 1H), 4.78-4.70 (m, 1H), 3.44-3.28 (m, 2H, overlaps with H2O), 3.09-3.00 (m, 1H), 1.97-1.75 (m, 4H); ESI MS m/z 418 [M+H]+.
