<p>As used herein the term "room temperature" refers to a temperature of about 25°C to about 35°C. According to one aspect of the present invention, there IS provided a novel process for the preparation of rilpivirine, which comprises: a) condensing the (E)-3-( 4-amino-3,5-dimethylphenyl)acrylonitrile hydrochloride with 4-( 4-chloropyrimidin-2-ylamino )benzonitrile m the presence of Nmethylpyrrolidone; b) heating the contents obtained in step (a) at about 75 to 95°C to obtain a solution; c) cooling the solution obtained in step (b) at below 35°C; d) adding water to the reaction mass; and e) isolating rilpivirine. The reaction in step (b) may preferably be heated to 100 to 110°C. Step (c) may preferably be carried out at room temperature. Rilpivirine may be isolated in step (e) by the methods known such as Filtration or centrifugation.</p>
