Copper iodide (0.019 g, 0.1 mmol) and bis(triphenylphosphine)Pd(II) dichloride (0.1 g, 0.15 mmol) were added and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 18 hrs. The mixture was diluted with ethyl acetate (30 mL) and filtered through a plug of Celite TM . Water (50 mL) was added to the filtrate and the organic layer extracted. The aqueous layer was extracted with further portions of ethyl acetate (2 x 30 mL). The organic layers were combined, dried over magnesium sulfate, filtered and concentrated. The crude material was purified by flash column chromatography (5% ethyl acetate in cyclohexane isocratic) to afford the title compound as a yellow solid (0.29 g, 94% Step D: 5-(3,5-Dichlorophenethyl)-2,3-dimethoxypyrazine 10% Palladium hydroxide on carbon (0.1 g) was added to a solution of 5-((3,5-dichlorophenyl)ethynyl)-2,3dimethoxypyrazine (0.28 g, 0.9 mmol) and 1-methyl-1,4-cyclohexadiene (1.7 g, 18 mmol) and the mixture stirred at 65 °C for 3 h. A further portion of 1-methyl-1,4-cyclohexadiene (1.7 g, 18 mmol) was added and the mixture was stirred at 65 °C for a further 3 hrs. The solution was then cooled and filtered through a plug of Celite TM . The Celite TM was washed with a portion of ethyl acetate (10 mL), dichoromethane (10 mL) and methanol (10 mL). The filtrate was concentrated in vacuo and the crude residue partitioned between water (10 mL) and ethyl acetate (10 mL). The organic layer was washed with brine (10 mL) and the combined aqueous layers washed with ethyl acetate