In order to improve the yield and reduce the cost in the synthesis of antitumor drug vismodegib the key intermediates are prepared and the Negishi reaction step is examined.The effects of different molar ratios of reactants dosages of catalyst and time for refluxing are investigated by using single factor tests.The results demonstrate that when the molar ratios of 2-bromopyridine 2-chloro-N-4-chloro-3-iodophenyl -4-methylsulfonyl benzamide zinc chloride n-butyllithium and tetrakis triphenyl phosphine palladium are changed to 1.0∶0.5∶1.5∶1.1∶0.05 and the mixture is refluxed for 24 h the production yield is improved to 72%.This reaction condition significantly enhances the synthetic efficiency avoids consuming excessive raw materials/catalysts and meanwhile prevents a prolonged reaction time.The optimization of the proportion of reactants and the heating time is proved to be important for the efficiency and economy in cross-coupling reaction to synthesize vismodegib.
