The general procedure for the synthesis of (5-(methylsulfonyl)pyridin-2-yl)methanamine hydrochloride from 5-(methylsulfonyl)pyridine-2-carbonitrile was as follows: 5-(methylsulfonyl)pyridine-2-carbonitrile (2.15 g, 11.8 mmol) was dissolved in methanol (230 mL). 6 M hydrochloric acid (1 mL) and 10% palladium-carbon catalyst (234 mg) were added to the solution, followed by stirring the reaction mixture overnight under atmospheric hydrogen atmosphere. Upon completion of the reaction, the catalyst was removed by diatomaceous earth filtration and the filtrate was concentrated under reduced pressure to remove the solvent. Water was added to the residue and the resulting solution was freeze-dried to afford (5-(methylsulfonyl)pyridin-2-yl)methylamine hydrochloride as a yellow powder (2.34 g, 89% yield). The product was characterized by 1H NMR (CD3OD): δ 9.10 (1H, d, J = 2.2 Hz); 8.36 (1H, dd, J = 8.2, 2.4 Hz); 7.68 (1H, d, J = 8.8 Hz); 4.29 (2H, s); 3.22 (3H, s).