NOVELTY - Process (p1) for preparing substituted 6-(isoxazol-4-ylmethoxy)-nicotinic acid compounds (I), comprises reacting substituted 6-(isoxazol-4-ylmethoxy)-nicotinonitrile compounds (IV) to give (I).    USE - The process is useful for preparing substituted 6-(isoxazol-4-ylmethoxy)-nicotinic acid compounds (I) which are useful for preparing substituted 6-(isoxazol-4-ylmethoxy)-nicotinamide compounds (VI) e.g. 6-(3-(4-chloro-phenyl)-isoxazol-4-ylmethoxy)-N-isopropyl-nicotinamide, 6-(3-(4-chloro-phenyl)-isoxazol-4-ylmethoxy)-N-(3-hydroxy-propyl)-nicotinamide and 6-(3-(4-chloro-phenyl)-5-methyl-isoxazol-4-ylmethoxy)-N-cyclopropylmethyl nicotinamide (all claimed).    ADVANTAGE - The process: provides improved selectivity of coupling reaction of (II) with (III) due to forming reduced amount of ether by-product; allows preparation of (I) on technical scale; and allows for a telescoped process for preparing (I) in high yields (80-85%) with a purity of greater than 99 wt/wt.% which is industrial due to reduced number of workup steps and workup time, increased overall yield, and thus provides improved throughput and cost-efficiency, enhanced operator safety, as well as reduced handling of solvents and improved environment-friendliness.    DETAILED DESCRIPTION - Process (p1) for preparing substituted 6-(isoxazol-4-ylmethoxy)-nicotinic acid compounds of formula (I) or their salts, comprises reacting substituted 6-(isoxazol-4-ylmethoxy)-nicotinonitrile compounds of formula (IV) to give (I).    R1 = phenyl optionally substituted by at least one halo; and    R2 = H, alkyl or haloalkyl.    INDEPENDENT CLAIMS are also included for:    (1) a telescoped process, comprising: (r) dissoluting substituted isoxazol-4-yl-methanol compounds of formula (II) together with substituted nicotinonitrile compounds of formula (III) in a solvent; (s) adding this solution to a suspension of a base in a solvent and reaction; (t) quenching of the reaction; (u) solvent exchanging to alcohol/water; (v) treating with a base in a solvent; (w) washing the aqueous reaction mixture with a solvent to remove impurities; (x) acidifying the aqueous phase with an acid; (y) extracting (I) with a solvent; and (z) crystallizing from a solvent to yield (I);    (2) a biocatalytical process, where a biocatalyst is reacted with (IV) in an aqueous buffer;    (3) a process (p2) for preparing substituted 6-(isoxazol-4-ylmethoxy)-nicotinamide compounds of formula (VI), comprising: reacting (II) with (III) to give (IV); reacting (IV) to give (I); and reacting (I) with substituted secondary amine compounds of formula (R8-NH-R9) (V) or their salts to give (VI) or their salts, where (II) is 3-(4-fluoro-phenyl)-5-methyl-isoxazol-4-ylmethanol, (III) is 6-chloronicotinonitrile, and (V) is thiomorpholine-1,1-dioxide or its salt; and    (4) substituted 6-(isoxazol-4-ylmethoxy)-nicotinic acid compounds (I) and substituted 6-(isoxazol-4-ylmethoxy)-nicotinamide compounds (VI) obtainable by the above processes.    Either R8, R9 = cycloalkyl, heterocycloalkyl, aryl, heteroaryl (all optionally substituted with at least one halo, CN, alkyl, alkoxy, haloalkyl, hydroxyalkyl, OH or oxo), H, alkyl, haloalkyl, hydroxyalkyl, cycloalkylalkyl, heterocycloalkylalkyl, arylalkyl or heteroarylalkyl; or    NR8R9 = heterocycloalkyl or heteroaryl (both optionally substituted with at least one halo, CN, alkyl, alkoxy, haloalkyl, hydroxyalkyl, OH or oxo); and    R3 = leaving group comprising halo, -OS(O)2-alkyl or -OS(O)2-aryl.    Provided that R8 and R9 are not both H.