The discovery of BMS-737 as a potent, CYP17 lyase-selective inhibitor for the treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer.

We report herein, the discovery of BMS-737 (compound 33) as a potent, non-steroidal, reversible small molecule inhibitor demonstrating 11-fold selectivity for CYP17 lyase over CYP17 hydroxylase, as well as a clean xenobiotic CYP profile for the treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Extensive SAR studies on the initial lead 1 at three different regions of the molecule resulted in the identification of BMS-737, which demonstrated a robust 83% lowering of testosterone without any significant perturbation of the mineralocorticoid and glucocorticoid levels in cynomologous monkeys in a 1-day PK/PD study.

Discovery of Orally Active Isofuranones as Potent, Selective Inhibitors of Hematopoetic Progenitor Kinase 1.

While the discovery of immune checkpoint inhibitors has led to robust, durable responses in a range of cancers, many patients do not respond to currently available therapeutics. Therefore, an urgent need exists to identify alternative mechanisms to augment the immune-mediated clearance of tumors. Hematopoetic progenitor kinase 1 (HPK1) is a serine-threonine kinase that acts as a negative regulator of T-cell receptor (TCR) signaling, to dampen the immune response. Herein we describe the structure-based discovery of isofuranones as inhibitors of HPK1. Optimization of the chemotype led to improvements in potency, selectivity, plasma protein binding, and metabolic stability, culminating in the identification of compound 24. Oral administration of 24, in combination with an anti-PD1 antibody, demonstrated robust enhancement of anti-PD1 efficacy in a syngeneic tumor model of colorectal cancer.

Total Synthesis of Meayamycin and O-Acyl Analogues.

A short, scalable total synthesis of meayamycin is described by an approach that entails a longest linear sequence of 12 steps (22 steps overall) from commercially available chiral pool materials (ethyl l-lactate, BocNH-Thr-OH, and d-ribose) and introduces the most straightforward preparation of the right-hand subunit detailed to date. The use of the approach in the divergent synthesis of a representative series of O-acyl analogues is exemplified.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of phenol-linked uncialamycin antibody-drug conjugates.

Uncialamycin is one of the structurally simpler and newer members of enediyne family of natural products. It exhibits highly potent activity against several types of bacteria and cancer cells. Described herein is a strategy for the targeted delivery of this cytotoxic agent to tumors using an antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) approach. Central to the design of ADC were the generation of potent and chemically stable uncialamycin analogues and attachment of protease cleavable linkers to newly realized phenolic handles to prepare linker-payloads. Conjugation of the linker-payloads to tumor targeting antibody, in vitro activity and in vivo evaluation are presented.

Discovery of 4-Azaindole Inhibitors of TGFßRI as Immuno-oncology Agents.

The multifunctional cytokine TGFß plays a central role in regulating antitumor immunity. It has been postulated that inhibition of TGFß signaling in concert with checkpoint blockade will provide improved and durable immune response against tumors. Herein, we describe a novel series of 4-azaindole TGFß receptor kinase inhibitors with excellent selectivity for TGFß receptor 1 kinase. The combination of compound 3f and an antimouse-PD-1 antibody demonstrated significantly improved antitumor efficacy compared to either treatment alone in a murine tumor model.

Development of a series of novel o-phenylenediamine-based indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) inhibitors.

A novel series of o-phenylenediamine-based inhibitors of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) has been identified. IDO is a heme-containing enzyme, overexpressed in the tumor microenvironment of many cancers, which can contribute to the suppression of the host immune system. Synthetic modifications to a previously described diarylether series resulted in an additional degree of molecular diversity which was exploited to afford compounds that demonstrated significant potency in the HeLa human cervical cancer IDO1 assay. .

Macrocyclic pyrrolobenzodiazepine dimers as antibody-drug conjugate payloads.

Macrocyclic pyrrolobenzodiazepine dimers were designed and evaluated for use as antibody-drug conjugate payloads. Initial structure-activity exploration established that macrocyclization could increase the potency of PBD dimers compared with non-macrocyclic analogs. Further optimization overcame activity-limiting solubility issues, leading to compounds with highly potent (picomolar) activity against several cancer cell lines. High levels of in vitro potency and specificity were demonstrated with an anti-mesothelin conjugate.

Synergistic inhibition of Aß production by combinations of γ-secretase modulators.

Alzheimer's disease is associated with the accumulation of amyloid-ß (Aß) in the brain. In particular, the 42-amino acid form, Aß1-42, is thought to play a key role in the disease. It is therefore of interest that diverse compounds, known as γ-secretase modulators (GSM), can selectively decrease Aß1-42 production without inhibiting the production of other forms of Aß. Here we describe the novel discovery of synergistic inhibition of Aß by certain combinations of GSMs. Cell cultures were treated with pairwise combinations of GSMs to determine how Aß peptide production was affected. Analysis of isobolograms and calculation of the combination index showed that BMS-869780 and GSM-2 were highly synergistic. Additional combinations of GSMs revealed that inhibition of Aß occurred only when one GSM was of the "acid GSM" structural class and the other was of the "non-acid GSM" class. A total of 15 representative acid/non-acid GSM combinations were shown to inhibit Aß production, whereas 10 pairwise combinations containing two acid GSMs or containing two non-acid GSMs did not inhibit Aß. We also discovered that lasalocid, a natural product, is a potent GSM. Lasalocid is unique in that it did not synergize with other GSMs. Synergism did not translate in vivo perhaps because of biochemical differences between the cell culture model and brain. These findings reinforce the pharmacological differences between different structural classes of GSMs, and may help to exploit the potential of γ-secretase as a drug target.

Identification and optimization of a novel series of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase inhibitors.

The discovery of a series of structurally-novel biaryl urea IDO inhibitors is described. Optimization of a micromolar hit through iterative cycles of synthesis and screening in an assay measuring IDO-mediated intracellular conversion of tryptophan to kynurenine led to potent inhibitors with favorable selectivity and metabolic stability profiles.

[2.2.1]-Bicyclic sultams as potent androgen receptor antagonists.

This letter describes the discovery, synthesis, SAR, and biological activity of [2.2.1]-bicyclic sultams as potent antagonists of the androgen receptor. Optimization of the series led to the identification of compound 25, which displayed robust pharmacodynamic effects in rats after oral dosing.

Discovery of the Selective CYP17A1 Lyase Inhibitor BMS-351 for the Treatment of Prostate Cancer.

Efforts to identify a potent, reversible, nonsteroidal CYP17A1 lyase inhibitor with good selectivity over CYP17A1 hydroxylase and CYPs 11B1 and 21A2 for the treatment of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) culminated in the discovery of BMS-351 (compound 18), a pyridyl biaryl benzimidazole with an excellent in vivo profile. Biological evaluation of BMS-351 at a dose of 1.5 mg in castrated cynomolgus monkeys revealed a remarkable reduction in testosterone levels with minimal glucocorticoid and mineralcorticoid perturbation. Based on a favorable profile, BMS-351 was selected as a candidate for further preclinical evaluation.

Discovery of BMS-641988, a Novel Androgen Receptor Antagonist for the Treatment of Prostate Cancer.

BMS-641988 (23) is a novel, nonsteroidal androgen receptor antagonist designed for the treatment of prostate cancer. The compound has high binding affinity for the AR and acts as a functional antagonist in vitro. BMS-641988 is efficacious in multiple human prostate cancer xenograft models, including CWR22-BMSLD1 where it displays superior efficacy relative to bicalutamide. Based on its promising preclinical profile, BMS-641988 was selected for clinical development.

Pharmacology of smac mimetics; chemotype differentiation based on physical association with caspase regulators and cellular transport.

Cellular levels of inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) proteins are elevated in multiple human cancers and their activities often play a part in promoting cancer cell survival by blocking apoptotic pathways, controlling signal transduction pathways and contributing to resistance. These proteins function through interactions of their BIR (baculoviral IAP repeat) protein domains with pathway components and these interactions are endogenously antagonized by Smac/Diablo (second mitochondrial activator of caspases/direct IAP binding protein with low isoelectric point). This report describes development of synthetic smac mimetics (SM) and compares their binding, antiproliferative and anti-tumor activities. All dimeric antagonists inhibit in vitro smac tetrapeptide binding to recombinant IAP proteins, rescue IAP-bound caspase-3 activity and show anti-proliferative activity against human A875 melanoma cells. One heterodimeric SM, SM3, binds tightly to IAP proteins in vitro and slowly dissociates (greater than two hours) from these protein complexes compared to the other antagonists. In addition, in vitro SM anti-proliferation potency is influenced by ABCB1 transporter (ATP-binding cassette, sub-family B; MDR1, P-gp) activities and one antagonist, SM5, does not appear to be an ABCB1 efflux pump substrate. All dimeric smac mimetics inhibit the growth of human melanoma A875 tumors implanted in athymic mice at well-tolerated doses. One antagonist, SM4, shows broad spectrum in vivo anti-tumor activity and modulates known pharmacodynamic markers of IAP antagonism. These data taken together demonstrate the range of diverse dimeric IAP antagonist activities and supports their potential as anticancer agents.

Dimeric Macrocyclic Antagonists of Inhibitor of Apoptosis Proteins for the Treatment of Cancer.

A series of dimeric macrocyclic compounds were prepared and evaluated as antagonists for inhibitor of apoptosis proteins. The most potent analogue 11, which binds to XIAP and c-IAP proteins with high affinity and induces caspase-3 activation and ultimately cell apoptosis, inhibits growth of human melanoma and colorectal cell lines at low nanomolar concentrations. Furthermore, compound 11 demonstrated significant antitumor activity in the A875 human melanoma xenograft model at doses as low as 2 mg/kg on a q3d schedule.

Discovery of Clinical Candidate BMS-906024: A Potent Pan-Notch Inhibitor for the Treatment of Leukemia and Solid Tumors.

Structure-activity relationships in a series of (2-oxo-1,4-benzodiazepin-3-yl)-succinamides identified highly potent inhibitors of γ-secretase mediated signaling of Notch1/2/3/4 receptors. On the basis of its robust in vivo efficacy at tolerated doses in Notch driven leukemia and solid tumor xenograft models, 12 (BMS-906024) was selected as a candidate for clinical evaluation.

BMS-871: a novel orally active pan-Notch inhibitor as an anticancer agent.

This Letter describes synthesis, SAR, and biological activity of (2-oxo-1,4-benzodiazepin-3-yl)-succinamides as inhibitors of γ-secretase mediated signaling of Notch receptors. Optimization of this series led to the identification of BMS-871 (compound 30) which displayed robust in vivo efficacy in Notch-dependent leukemia and solid tumor xenograft models.

Discovery of potent heterodimeric antagonists of inhibitor of apoptosis proteins (IAPs) with sustained antitumor activity.

The prominent role of IAPs in controlling cell death and their overexpression in a variety of cancers has prompted the development of IAP antagonists as potential antitumor therapies. We describe the identification of a series of heterodimeric antagonists with highly potent antiproliferative activities in cIAP- and XIAP-dependent cell lines. Compounds 15 and 17 further demonstrate curative efficacy in human melanoma and lung cancer xenograft models and are promising candidates for advanced studies.

Antibody-drug conjugates: current status and future directions.

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) aim to take advantage of the specificity of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to deliver potent cytotoxic drugs selectively to antigen-expressing tumor cells. Despite the simple concept, various parameters must be considered when designing optimal ADCs, such as selection of the appropriate antigen target and conjugation method. Each component of the ADC (the antibody, linker and drug) must also be optimized to fully realize the goal of a targeted therapy with improved efficacy and tolerability. Advancements over the past several decades have led to a new generation of ADCs comprising non-immunogenic mAbs, linkers with balanced stability and highly potent cytotoxic agents. Although challenges remain, recent clinical success has generated intense interest in this therapeutic class.

Hyperdynamic microtubules, cognitive deficits, and pathology are improved in tau transgenic mice with low doses of the microtubule-stabilizing agent BMS-241027.

Tau is a microtubule (MT)-stabilizing protein that is altered in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other tauopathies. It is hypothesized that the hyperphosphorylated, conformationally altered, and multimeric forms of tau lead to a disruption of MT stability; however, direct evidence is lacking in vivo. In this study, an in vivo stable isotope-mass spectrometric technique was used to measure the turnover, or dynamicity, of MTs in brains of living animals. We demonstrated an age-dependent increase in MT dynamics in two different tau transgenic mouse models, 3xTg and rTg4510. MT hyperdynamicity was dependent on tau expression, since a reduction of transgene expression with doxycycline reversed the MT changes. Treatment of rTg4510 mice with the epothilone, BMS-241027, also restored MT dynamics to baseline levels. In addition, MT stabilization with BMS-241027 had beneficial effects on Morris water maze deficits, tau pathology, and neurodegeneration. Interestingly, pathological and functional benefits of BMS-241027 were observed at doses that only partially reversed MT hyperdynamicity. Together, these data suggest that tau-mediated loss of MT stability may contribute to disease progression and that very low doses of BMS-241027 may be useful in the treatment of AD and other tauopathies.

AlMe(3)-promoted formation of amides from acids and amines.

In the presence of AlMe(3), amines can be directly coupled with acids through dimethylaluminum amide intermediates to form the corresponding amides. A wide range of amines and acids including less nucleophilic amines, bulky amines, unprotected secondary amino acids, and acids with poor solubility were coupled smoothly to give the desired products in 55-98% yields.