Abstract: The invention relates to a process for the preparation of an ?-amino carbonyl compound by reacting an imine starting material with a suitable electrophile in the presence of a base. This process has the advantage that the imine starting materials can be prepared from glyoxylic acid esters or glyoxylic acid ester derivatives and ?-hydrogen containing primary amines, which are usually cheap and readily available. These imine starting materials can usually be prepared with a high yield and/or almost without the formation of any side products.

Abstract: The invention relates to the preparation of 2-(6-substituted-1,3-dioxane-4-yl)acetic acid derivatives of formula 1, where X stands for a leaving group, and R1, R2, and R3 each independently stand for an alkyl group with 1-3 carbon atoms from 4-hydroxy-6-X-substituted-methyl-tetrahydropyran-2-one compounds, where X is as defined above, with the aid of an acetalization agent, in the presence of an acid catalyst. The invention also relates to the novel compounds of formula 1 as well as salts and acids to be prepared from these, with the OR3 group in formula 1 being replaced by an OY group, where X, R1 and R2 have the meanings defined above and where Y stands for an alkaline (earth) metal or a substituted or unsubstituted ammonium group or stands for hydrogen, and to the novel compounds of formula 2. The products concerned are, after conversion into the t-butyl ester of 2-(6-hydroxymethyl-1,3-dioxane-4-yl)acetic acid, important as intermediary products in the preparation of statins.