We describe a convenient scalable synthesis of 4-carbomethoxy-6, 6′-dimethyl-2, 2′- bipyridine based on the application of modified Negishi cross-coupling conditions. The use of this building block in the preparation of a number of dissymmetrically 6, 6′-trisubstituted- 2, 2′-bipyridines and of bifunctional lanthanide chelators is also reported.
