Patent ID: 7608720

Claim:
A process for the preparation of 2-aminomethylpyridine derivatives of formula (I) or salts thereof comprising the steps of reacting 2-substituted pyridine derivatives of the formula (II) with a nitroalkane of the formula (III) in the presence of a base resulting in 2-nitromethylpyridine derivatives of the formula (IV) and then hydrogenating these 2-nitromethylpyridine derivatives of the formula (IV) in the presence of a catalyst and an acid, wherein n represents 0, 1, 2 or 3, X represents a halogen atom, Y is selected from the group consisting of a halogen atom, halogenoalkyl, alkoxycarbonyl, and alkylsulfonyl, where each Y may be identical or different if n represents, 2 or 3, R 1 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, alkyl, cycloalkyl, and cycloalkylmethyl, R 2 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and alkyl, or R 1 and R 2 taken together can represent alkylene, and A is selected from the group consisting of halogen, trifluoromethylsulfonyl methylsulphonyl, and other radicals that can act as negatively charged leaving groups.