Bioisosteric Tactics in the Discovery of Tetflupyrolimet: A New Mode-of-Action Herbicide.

The last new herbicidal modes-of-action with commercial significance were introduced to the marketplace multiple decades ago. Serious weed resistance to most herbicidal classes have since emerged with widespread use. Aryl pyrrolidinone anilides represent an entirely new mode-of-action class of herbicides that interfere with de novo pyrimidine biosynthesis in plants via inhibition of dihydroorotate dehydrogenase. The chemical lead for this new herbicide class discovery was identified from high-volume sourced greenhouse screening that required structural reassignment of the hit molecule followed by an extensive synthetic optimization effort. With excellent grass weed control and pronounced safety on rice, the selected commercial development candidate has a proposed common name of tetflupyrolimet and represents the first member of the new HRAC (Herbicide Resistance Action Committee) Group 28. This paper describes the discovery path to tetflupyrolimet with an added focus on the bioisosteric modifications pursued in optimization, including replacements of the lactam core itself.

A retrospective look at anthranilic diamide insecticides: discovery and lead optimization to chlorantraniliprole and cyantraniliprole.

Anthranilic diamides are an important commercial synthetic class of insecticides (IRAC Group 28) that bind to the ryanodine receptor with selective potency against insect versus mammalian forms of the receptor. The first commercialized diamide, chlorantraniliprole, has exceptional activity against lepidopteran pests. The second anthranilamide product, cyantraniliprole, has excellent cross-spectrum activity against a range of insect orders, including both lepidopteran and hemipteran pests. Here, a retrospective look is presented on the discovery of the class, along with chemistry highlights of the lead evolution to both products. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Tubulin modulating antifungal and antiproliferative pyrazinone derivatives.

A novel class of synthetic tubulin polymerization disruptors, based on a substituted pyrazin-2-one core, has been discovered. These molecules have proven to be potent broad spectrum fungicides, with activity on agriculturally important ascomycete and basidiomycete pathogens. They have also been found to be particularly potent against human rhabdomyosarcoma cells. Using an efficient synthetic route, the agricultural and medicinal activity was explored.

Discovery of cyantraniliprole, a potent and selective anthranilic diamide ryanodine receptor activator with cross-spectrum insecticidal activity.

Anthranilic diamides are an exceptionally active class of insect control chemistry that selectively activates insect ryanodine receptors causing mortality from uncontrolled release of calcium ion stores in muscle cells. Work in this area led to the successful commercialization of chlorantraniliprole for control of Lepidoptera and other insect pests at very low application rates. In search of lower logP analogs with improved plant systemic properties, exploration of cyano-substituted anthranilic diamides culminated in the discovery of a second product candidate, cyantraniliprole, having excellent activity against a wide range of pests from multiple insect orders. Here we report on the chemistry, biology and structure-activity trends for a series of cyanoanthranilic diamides from which cyantraniliprole was selected for commercial development.

Rynaxypyr: a new insecticidal anthranilic diamide that acts as a potent and selective ryanodine receptor activator.

Rynaxypyr is a highly potent and selective activator of insect ryanodine receptors with exceptional activity on a broad range of Lepidoptera. A strong correlation between insecticidal activity and ryanodine receptor activation is observed along with selective activity against insect over mammalian receptors. The synthesis and biological results are presented.

Insecticidal anthranilic diamides: a new class of potent ryanodine receptor activators.

A novel class of anthranilic diamides has been discovered with exceptional insecticidal activity on a range of Lepidoptera. These compounds have been found to exhibit their action by release of intracellular Ca2+ stores mediated by the ryanodine receptor. The discovery, synthesis, structure-activity, and biological results are presented.