An orally available Mpro inhibitor is effective against wild-type SARS-CoV-2 and variants including Omicron.

Emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants continue to cause waves of new infections globally. Developing effective antivirals against SARS-CoV-2 and its variants is an urgent task. The main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2 is an attractive drug target because of its central role in viral replication and its conservation among variants. We herein report a series of potent α-ketoamide-containing Mpro inhibitors obtained using the Ugi four-component reaction. The prioritized compound, Y180, showed an IC50 of 8.1 nM against SARS-CoV-2 Mpro and had oral bioavailability of 92.9%, 31.9% and 85.7% in mice, rats and dogs, respectively. Y180 protected against wild-type SARS-CoV-2, B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.617.1 (Kappa) and P.3 (Theta), with EC50 of 11.4, 20.3, 34.4 and 23.7 nM, respectively. Oral treatment with Y180 displayed a remarkable antiviral potency and substantially ameliorated the virus-induced tissue damage in both nasal turbinate and lung of B.1.1.7-infected K18-human ACE2 (K18-hACE2) transgenic mice. Therapeutic treatment with Y180 improved the survival of mice from 0 to 44.4% (P = 0.0086) upon B.1.617.1 infection in the lethal infection model. Importantly, Y180 was also highly effective against the B.1.1.529 (Omicron) variant both in vitro and in vivo. Overall, our study provides a promising lead compound for oral drug development against SARS-CoV-2.

[4 + 2] Annulation Reaction of In Situ Generated Azoalkenes with Azlactones: Access to 4,5-Dihydropyridazin-3(2H)-Ones.

An unprecedented [4 + 2] annulation reaction between in situ formed azoalkenes and azlactones has been developed. This reaction provides a facile access to an array of 4,5-dihydropyridazin-3(2H)-one derivatives, which are very promising in medicinal applications as potential biologically active candidates. Notably, these dihydropyridazinones could also be synthesized via a one-pot reaction protocol by using the in situ formed azlactones from N-acyl amino acids and in situ generated azoalkenes from α-halogeno hydrazones. The potential applications of the methodology were also demonstrated by gram-scale experiments and the versatile conversions of the products into other nitrogen-containing compounds.

Divergent synthesis of oxindole derivatives via controllable reactions of isatin-derived para-quinone methides with sulfur ylides.

A catalyst-free and controllable reaction of isatin-derived para-quinone methides with sulfur ylides was developed. This protocol enables the divergent synthesis of two different valuable oxindole derivatives with a broad substrate scope and high stereoselectivities (up to >20 : 1 dr and only the (Z)-configuration).

[4 + 1] annulation reaction of cyclic pyridinium ylides with in situ generated azoalkenes for the construction of spirocyclic skeletons.

Two new types of cyclic pyridinium ylides were designed and further used in reactions with azoalkenes to access structurally diverse spirocyclic compounds. A range of spiropyrazoline oxindoles could be smoothly obtained in up to 99% yield via a [4 + 1] annulation process with oxindole 3-pyridinium ylides as C1 synthons. Similarly, a series of spiropyrazoline indanones could be prepared with indanone 2-pyridinium ylides as C1 synthons. This work represents the first example of cyclic pyridinium ylides as C1 synthons for the efficient construction of spirocyclic compounds.