2-Methyl-5-pyrimidinecarboxaldehyde (8 g, 66 mmol, compound 44b) was dissolved in methanol (100 mL) at 0°C and sodium borohydride (7.5 g, 197 mmol) was slowly added. The reaction temperature was maintained in the range of 0-15°C and the reaction mixture was stirred for 3 hours. Upon completion of the reaction, the reaction was quenched with saturated ammonium chloride solution (30 mL) and subsequently extracted with ethyl acetate (20 mL x 3). The organic layers were combined, dried with anhydrous sodium sulfate, filtered and concentrated under reduced pressure. Purification of the residue by silica gel column chromatography afforded (2-methylpyrimidin-5-yl)methanol (4.1 g, 51% yield, compound 44c) as a white solid.
