Patent ID: 7208623

Claim:
A process for the manufacture of a compound of formula or a salt thereof or a lactone thereof, wherein the element represents —CH 2 —CH 2 — or —CH═CH— and R represents a cyclic residue, comprising (a) reacting a compound of formula (II a) wherein R 1 , R 2 and R 3 , independently of one another, represents phenyl that is un-substituted or substituted by one or more substituents selected from the group consisting of C 1 –C 7 alkyl, hydroxy, C 1 –C 7 alkoxy, C 2 –C 8 alkanoyl-oxy, halogen, nitro, cyano, and CF 3 , and R 4 is an aliphatic, cycloaliphatic, araliphatic or aromatic residue; with a compound of formula R—CH(═O) (II b) wherein R represents a cyclic residue; and (b) reducing a resulting compound of formula (II c) wherein R and R 4 have the meanings as defined above; in the presence of a reducing agent selected from the group consisting of a compound of formulae (II d), (II d′), (II d″), (II d′″), (II d″″), (II d′″″), (II d″″″), and (II d′″″″) wherein M is Ru, Rh, Ir, Fe, Co or Ni; L 1 is hydrogen; L 2 represents an aryl or aryl-aliphatic residue; Hal is halogen; R 5 is an aliphatic, cycloaliphatic, cycloaliphatic-aliphatic, aryl or aryl-aliphatic residue, which, in each case, may be linked to a polymer; each of R 6 and R 7 , independently, is an aliphatic, cycloaliphatic, cycloaliphatic-aliphatic, aryl or aryl-aliphatic residue; each of R 8 and R 9 is phenyl or R 8 and R 9 form together with the carbon atom to which they are attached a cyclohexane or cyclopentane ring; and R 15 is H, halogen, amino, nitro or C 1 –C 7 alkoxy; wherein any aromatic residue of a compound of formula (IId), (IId′), (IId″), (IId′″), (IId″″), (IId′″″), (IId″″″) or (IID′″″″) is unsubstituted or substituted; wherein for compounds of formula (IId″), (IId′″), (IId″″), (IId′″″), (IId″″″) or (IID′″″″) also combinations with (R)— or (S)-BINAP are possible; and (c) condensing a resulting compound of formula (II e) wherein R and R 4 have the meanings as defined above, with a compound of formula (II f) wherein R 16 represents an aliphatic residue, and (d) reducing a resulting compound of formula (II g) wherein R and R 16 have the meanings as defined above, and (e) hydrolysing a resulting compound of formula (II h) wherein R and R 16 have the meanings as defined above, and (f) isolating a resulting compound of formula (I) or a salt thereof; optionally, converting a resulting free acid of formula (I) into a salt thereof or into a lactone of formula (I a) or (I b), respectively, or converting a resulting compound of formula (I) wherein the element represents —CH═CH— into a compound of formula (I) wherein the element represents —CH 2 —CH 2 —.