PROCESS FOR THE PREPARATION OF TAFAMIDIS

1 . A process for the preparation of crystalline Form 4 of tafamidis, comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a solution of tafamidis meglumine in a (C 2 -C 3 ) sulfoxide solvent;

(b) reacting the solution of the step (a) with an acid to form a reaction mixture; and

(c) obtaining crystalline Form 4 of tafamidis from the reaction mixture of the step (b) by combining the reaction mixture with a second solvent selected from the group consisting of (C 1 -C 8 ) alcohols, water and a mixture thereof.

2 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the acid used in the step (b) is selected from the group consisting of an organic acid, an inorganic acid, and a mixture thereof.

3 . The process according to claim 2 , wherein the organic acid is selected from the group consisting of a carboxylic acid, a sulfonic acid, and a mixture thereof.

4 . The process according to claim 3 , wherein the carboxylic acid is selected from the group consisting of formic acid, acetic acid, propionic acid, trifluoroacetic acid and a mixture thereof.

5 . The process according to claim 3 , wherein the sulfonic acid is selected from the group consisting of p-toluenesulfonic acid, ethane-1,2-disulfonic acid, ethane sulfonic acid, methane sulfonic acid, benzene sulfonic acid, and a mixture thereof.

6 . The process according to claim 2 , wherein the inorganic acid is selected from the group consisting of hydrochloric acid, hydrobromic acid, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, phosphoric acid, and a mixture thereof.

7 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the crystalline Form 4 of tafamidis contains less than about 0.5% w/w of crystalline Form 1 of tafamidis.

8 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the tafamidis meglumine used in the step (a) is prepared by a process comprising the steps of:

(i) reacting 4-(3,5-dichlorobenzamido)-3-hydroxybenzoic acid with a coupling agent in a (C 1 -C 4 ) amide solvent to obtain a reaction mixture comprising tafamidis;

(ii) reacting the reaction mixture of the step (i) with meglumine to obtain a reaction mixture comprising tafamidis meglumine; and

(iii) separating the tafamidis meglumine from the reaction mixture of the step (ii).

9 . (canceled)

10 . The process according to claim 8 , wherein the amide solvent is dimethylacetamide or dimethylformamide.

11 . The process according to claim 8 , wherein the step (iii) comprises:

(iii-a) combining the reaction mixture of the step (ii) with a second solvent selected from the group consisting of (C 1 -C 8 ) alcohols, water and mixtures thereof; or

(iii-b) removing the solvent from the reaction mixture of the step (ii).

12 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the (C 2 -C 3 ) sulfoxide solvent used in the step (a) is dimethyl sulfoxide.

13 . The process according to claim 1 , wherein the (C 1 -C 8 ) alcohols in the step (c) is selected from the group consisting of methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol, 1-butanol, 2-butanol, 1-pentanol, and a mixture thereof.