A mixture of methyl 2-chloro-6-methylisonicotinate (2.00 g, 10.8 mmol), acetamide (1.27 g, 21.6 mmol), tris(dibenzylideneacetone)dipalladium(0) (0.20 g, 0.22 mmol), 4,5-bis(diphenylphosphino)-9,9-dimethylxanthene (0.37 g, 0.65 mmol), tripotassium phosphate (2.74 g, 12.9 mmol) and 1,4-dioxane (26 mL) is heated by microwave irradiation at 150° C. for 1 hr. After cooling to room temperature, the mixture is filtered through a pad of celite. The filtrate is concentrated under reduced pressure and the residue is purified by column chromatography on silica gel eluting with n-hexane/ethyl acetate (4:11:3) to give 1.99 g (89% yield) of the title compound as a yellow solid.
