Patent ID: 6927291

Claim:
A process for the preparation of a compound of Formula (IV): comprising: (1) contacting a compound of Formula (I): with an acyl halide of Formula Q—C(═O)X, wherein: Q is 2-(R 1 CH 2 CO 2 )phenyl-, R 1 CH 2 —, or R 1 CH 2 C(═O)OC(R 2 ) 2 —; X is Cl, Br, or I; R 1 is H or C 1 -C 6 alkyl; R 2 , at each occurrence, is independently selected from methyl, ethyl, and propyl; in a suitable polar aprotic solvent at a temperature from about 0° C. to 60° C. to form a compound of Formula (II), a compound of Formula (II*), or a mixture of compounds of Formula (II) and (II*): wherein R 3 is X; and R 4 is R 1 CH 2 C(═O)O—; (2) contacting the compound of Formula (II), the compound of Formula (II*), or the mixture of compounds of Formula (II) and (II*); with a suitable reducing agent in a suitable polar solvent, in the absence of an acid catalyst, to form a compound of Formula (III): (3) contacting the compound of Formula (III) with a suitable base to form the compound of Formula (IV).