The condensation of 2,4-difluoronitrobenzene (I) with 2(S)-aminobutyric acid (II) by means of triethylamine in refluxing acetone gives 2(S)-(5-fluoro-2-nitrophenylamino)butyric acid (III), which is reductocyclized with H2 over Raney-Ni in methanol/acetic acid, yielding 3(S)-ethyl-6-fluoro-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroquinoxalin-2-one (IV). Finally, this compound is treated with isopropyl chloroformate (V) and 4-methylpyridine in dichloromethane.