Treatment of the anilines (XLVI) with an appropriate benzaldehyde (XLVIII) in the presence of a suitable reducing agent such as sodium triacetoxyborohydride or sodium cyanoborohydride and generally under mildly acidic conditions, such as in the presence of acetic acid, in a suitable solvent such as 1,2-dichloroethane, THF, methanol or acetonitrile, affords the benzylamine analogs (XLIX).