General procedure for the synthesis of 4-methoxy-2-methyl-1H-pyrrolo[2,3-b]pyridine from 2-methanol-4-methoxy-7-azaindole: (4-methoxy-1H-pyrrolo[2,3-b]pyridin-2-yl) methanol (0.90 g, 5.05 mmol) and Pd(OH)2 (100 mg) were suspended in aqueous solution containing 4N HCl ( 10 mL) in methanol and hydrogenated under hydrogen pressure (50 psi) for 36 hours. Upon completion of the reaction, the acidic mixture was neutralized with 1N NaOH solution. The reaction mixture was filtered through diatomaceous earth, the filtrate was concentrated and purified on a silica gel column using dichloromethane solution containing 5% methanol as eluent to afford the target product 4-methoxy-2-methyl-1H-pyrrolo[2,3-b]pyridine (5) as a light yellow slurry. Yield: 0.68 g, 83% yield; ESI MS: m/z 163.01 (M + 1).