The condensation of 5-benzyloxy-3-[1-(isopropylamino)-2-methoxyethyl]indole (I) with N-(4-methylbenzylidene)glycine isopropyl ester (II) by means of K2CO3 in hot DMF gives 2-amino-3-(5-benzyloxyindol-3-yl)-4-methoxybutyric acid isopropyl ester (III), which is cyclized with paraformaldehyde in refluxing xylene, yielding 6-benzyloxy-4-(methoxymethyl)-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-9H-pyrido[3,4-b]indole - 3-carboxylic acid isopropyl ester (IV). Finally, this compound is dehydrogenated with tert-butyl hypochlorite and triethylamine in dichloromethane.