Condensation of benzoin (I) and phenylurea in a boiling mixture of glacial acetic acid and 63% hydrobromic acid yields 1,4,5-triphenyl-4-imidazolin-2-one (III), which can be converted to octimibate (VI) and octimibate sodium by two procedures (A, B): Procedure A: (III) is converted to 2-chloro-1,4,5-triphenylimidazole (II) on treatment with phosphorus oxytrichloride at 100 C. Octimibate is prepared by treatment of (II) with the dipotassium salt of 8-hydroxyoctanoic acid in boiling dimethylformamide. Procedure B: The sodium salt of (III) is formed by treatment with sodium hydride in dimetbylformamide. The reaction of this salt with 8-bromooctanoic acid ethyl ester gives 8-[(1,4,5-triphenylimidazol-2yl)oxy]octanoic acid ethyl ester (IV) after purification using column chromatography. Saponification of (IV) yields octimibate (V), which is converted to octimibate sodium.

Condensation of benzoin (I) and phenylurea in a boiling mixture of glacial acetic acid and 63% hydrobromic acid yields 1,4,5-triphenyl-4-imidazolin-2-one (III), which can be converted to octimibate (VI) and octimibate sodium by two procedures (A, B): Procedure A: (III) is converted to 2-chloro-1,4,5-triphenylimidazole (II) on treatment with phosphorus oxytrichloride at 100 C. Octimibate is prepared by treatment of (II) with the dipotassium salt of 8-hydroxyoctanoic acid in boiling dimethylformamide. Procedure B: The sodium salt of (III) is formed by treatment with sodium hydride in dimetbylformamide. The reaction of this salt with 8-bromooctanoic acid ethyl ester gives 8-[(1,4,5-triphenylimidazol-2yl)oxy]octanoic acid ethyl ester (IV) after purification using column chromatography. Saponification of (IV) yields octimibate (V), which is converted to octimibate sodium.