Highly efficient synthesis of 5-benzyl-3-aminoindazoles

A rapid and efficient procedure for the preparation of 5-benzyl-3-aminoindazoles 1 is reported. Key intermediates are fluoro-cyano diarylmethanes 2 which have been obtained by two different synthetic approaches. Benefits of these methods result from the use of commercially available starting materials and practical experimental conditions that allow easy scale-up.