A series of benzoylpyrimidines derived from the anilinepyrimidine CRF1 antagonists were synthesized. Several synthetic routes were developed to explore the SAR of this series of compounds. Compounds such as 8d (K-i = 15 nM) exhibited high binding affinities at the human CRF1 receptor. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.