Patent ID: 6872826

Claim:
A process for preparing a compound of Formula VIII: wherein X is a substituent on the aromatic ring, n is an integer ranging from 1 to 5 and denoting the number of X moieties which may be the same or different each X being independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl, halogen, halogenated alkyl, alkoxy, aryl, aryloxy and heteroaryl; and Z is selected from the group consisting of alkyl, alkoxyalkyl, aryl, heteroaryl, heteroarylalkyl and arylalkyl; said process comprising: (a) reacting, in the presence of an inorganic base in a solvent, a compound of Formula IX: where X, n and Z are defined above and Y is selected from the group consisting of alkyl, halogenated alkyl, and aryl with said aryl being optionally substituted with alkyl, nitro or halogen; with a compound of Formula X: where G is selected from the group consisting of alkyl, halogenated alkyl, alkoxy, aryl, aryloxy and arylalkoxy, to yield the compound of formula: and (b) removing the —CO-G group by treatment with an acid or a base to yield the compound of Formula VIII, further wherein said process forms the compound of Formula VIII in at least 50% yields with at least about a 2:1 ratio of R,S stereochemistry to S,S stereochemistry respectively.