Discovery of an Oral, Rule of 5 Compliant, Interleukin 17A Protein-Protein Interaction Modulator for the Potential Treatment of Psoriasis and Other Inflammatory Diseases.

Interleukin 17A (IL-17A) is an interleukin cytokine whose dysregulation is implicated in autoimmune disorders such as psoriasis, and monoclonal antibodies against the IL-17A pathway are now well-established and very effective treatments. This article outlines the work that led to the identification of 23 as an oral, small-molecule protein-protein interaction modulator (PPIm) clinical development candidate. Protein crystallography provided knowledge of the key binding interactions between small-molecule ligands and the IL-17A dimer, and this helped in the multiparameter optimization toward identifying an orally bioavailable, Rule of 5 compliant PPIm of IL-17A. Overlap of early ligands led to a series of benzhydrylglycine-containing compounds that allowed the identification of dimethylpyrazole as a key substituent that gave PPIm with oral bioavailability. Exploration of the amino acid portion of the structure then led to dicyclopropylalanine as a group that gave potent and metabolically stable compounds, including the development candidate 23.

Topical 'dual-soft' glucocorticoid receptor agonist for dermatology.

Steroidal glucocorticoids (GR agonists) have been widely used for the topical treatment of skin disorders, including atopic dermatitis. They are a very effective therapy, but they are associated with both unwanted local effects in the skin (skin thinning/atrophy) and systemic side effects. These effects can limit the long-term utility of potent steroids. Here we report on a topically delivered non-steroidal GR agonist, that has the potential to deliver high efficacy in the skin, but due to rapid metabolism in the blood & liver ("dual-soft") it should have greater systemic safety than existing treatments. In addition, compared to less selective steroidal GR agonists, the new non-steroidal Selective Glucocorticoid Agonists (SEGRAs) have the potential to avoid the skin atrophy observed with existing topical steroids. Due to its potential for reduced skin atrophy and low systemic exposure, LEO 134310 (17) may be suitable for long term topical treatment of skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis and psoriasis.

Fragment-Based Discovery of 6-Arylindazole JAK Inhibitors.

Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors are emerging as novel and efficacious drugs for treating psoriasis and other inflammatory skin disorders, but their full potential is hampered by systemic side effects. To overcome this limitation, we set out to discover soft drug JAK inhibitors for topical use. A fragment screen yielded an indazole hit that was elaborated into a potent JAK inhibitor using structure-based design. Growing the fragment by installing a phenol moiety in the 6-position afforded a greatly improved potency. Fine-tuning the substituents on the phenol and sulfonamide moieties afforded a set of compounds with lead-like properties, but they were found to be phototoxic and unstable in the presence of light.

Design of potent and selective inhibitors to overcome clinical anaplastic lymphoma kinase mutations resistant to crizotinib.

Crizotinib (1), an anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2011, is efficacious in ALK and ROS positive patients. Under pressure of crizotinib treatment, point mutations arise in the kinase domain of ALK, resulting in resistance and progressive disease. The successful application of both structure-based and lipophilic-efficiency-focused drug design resulted in aminopyridine 8e, which was potent across a broad panel of engineered ALK mutant cell lines and showed suitable preclinical pharmacokinetics and robust tumor growth inhibition in a crizotinib-resistant cell line (H3122-L1196M).

Dynamic combinatorial mass spectrometry leads to inhibitors of a 2-oxoglutarate-dependent nucleic acid demethylase.

2-Oxoglutarate-dependent nucleic acid demethylases are of biological interest because of their roles in nucleic acid repair and modification. Although some of these enzymes are linked to physiology, their regulatory roles are unclear. Hence, there is a desire to develop selective inhibitors for them; we report studies on AlkB, which reveal it as being amenable to selective inhibition by small molecules. Dynamic combinatorial chemistry linked to mass spectrometric analyses (DCMS) led to the identification of lead compounds, one of which was analyzed by crystallography. Subsequent structure-guided studies led to the identification of inhibitors of improved potency, some of which were shown to be selective over two other 2OG oxygenases. The work further validates the use of the DCMS method and will help to enable the development of inhibitors of nucleic acid modifying 2OG oxygenases both for use as functional probes and, in the longer term, for potential therapeutic use.

Discovery of PF-184563, a potent and selective V1a antagonist for the treatment of dysmenorrhoea. The influence of compound flexibility on microsomal stability.

The V1a receptor has emerged as an attractive target for a range of indications including Raynaud's disease and dysmenorrhoea. As part of an effort to discover a new class of orally active V1a antagonist, we optimised a highly lipophilic, metabolically unstable lead into a range of potent, selective and metabolically stable V1a antagonists. In this communication, we demonstrate the series-dependent effect of limiting the number of rotatable bonds in order to decrease Cytochrome P450-mediated metabolism. This effort culminated in the discovery of PF-184563, a novel, selective V1a antagonist with excellent in vitro and in vivo properties.

Acidic triazoles as soluble guanylate cyclase stimulators.

A series of acidic triazoles with activity as soluble guanylate cyclase stimulators is described. Incorporation of the CF(3) triazole improved the overall physicochemical and drug-like properties of the molecule and is exemplified by compound 25.

Synthesis and evaluation of heteroarylalanine diacids as potent and selective neutral endopeptidase inhibitors.

Heteroarylalanine derivatives 4 were designed as potential inhibitors of neutral endopeptidase (NEP EC 3.4.24.11). Selectivity over other zinc metalloproteinases was explored through occupation of the S2' subsite within NEP. Structural optimisation led to the identification of 5-phenyl oxazole 4f, a potent and selective NEP inhibitor. A crystal structure of the inhibitor bound complex is reported.

Optimisation of a pyrazole series of progesterone antagonists; Part 1.

The design and synthesis of a novel series of non-steroidal progesterone receptor antagonists is described. Ligand-lipophilicity efficiency (LLE) was used in the selection of a prototype agent for in vivo pharmacology studies.

A novel series of highly selective inhibitors of MMP-3.

The design and synthesis of a series of highly selective hydroxamate inhibitors of stromelysin-1 (MMP-3) is described. Substitution of a 4-biaryl piperidine sulfonamide core, which binds at the S1' subsite of MMP-3, was optimised to give potent inhibitors of MMP-3, with greater than 300-fold selectivity over MMP-1, MMP-2, MMP-9 and MMP-14. Compounds 26 and 27 were identified as having the best balance of pharmacology and properties required for topical drug delivery.

The design and synthesis of a novel series of indole derived selective ET(A) antagonists.

Conformational constraint has been used as the key design element in the identification of a series of potent and selective ET(A) antagonists. The most potent antagonist, 32, (ET(A) IC(50)=0.55nM) is 722-fold selective over the ET(B) receptor, as measured by binding experiments.