Novel orally bioavailable gamma-secretase inhibitors with excellent in vivo activity.

The development of potent gamma-secretase inhibitors having substituted heterocycles attached to a benzobicyclo[4.2.1]nonane core is described. This work led to the identification of [6S,9R,11R]-2',3',4',5,5',6,7,8,9,10-decahydro-2-(5-(4-fluorophenyl)-1-methylpyrazol-3-yl)-5'-(2,2,2-trifluoroethyl)spiro[6,9-methanobenzocyclooctene-11,3'-[1,2,5]thiadiazole] 1',1'-dioxide (16), which has excellent in vitro potency (0.06 nM) and which reduced amyloid-beta in APP-YAC mice with an ED(50) of 1 mg/kg (po). 16 had a good pharmacokinetic profile in three preclinical species.

The stereocontrolled total synthesis of altohyrtin A/spongistatin 1: the southern hemisphere EF segment.

The fully functionalised C29-C51 southern hemisphere of altohyrtin A/spongistatin 1 , incorporating the E- and F-ring tetrahydropyran rings and the unsaturated side chain, has been synthesised in a highly convergent and stereocontrolled manner. Key steps in the synthesis of this phosphonium salt include four highly diastereoselective, substrate-controlled, boron aldol reactions to establish key C-C bonds and accompanying stereocentres, where the introduction of the chlorodiene side chain and the C47 hydroxyl-bearing centre were realised by exploiting remote stereoinduction from the F-ring tetrahydropyran.

Total synthesis of rhizoxin D, a potent antimitotic agent from the fungus Rhizopus chinensis.

Rhizoxin D (2) was synthesized from four subunits, A, B, C, and D representing C3-C9, C10-C13, C14-C19, and C20-C27, respectively. Subunit A was prepared by cyclization of iodo acetal 21, which set the configuration at C5 of 2 through a stereoselective addition of the radical derived from dehalogenation of 21 at the beta carbon of the (Z)-alpha,beta-unsaturated ester. Aldehyde 29 was obtained from phenylthioacetal 24 and condensed with phosphorane 30, representing subunit B, in a Wittig reaction that gave the (E,E)-dienoate 31. This ester was converted to aldehyde 33 in preparation for coupling with subunit C. The latter in the form of methyl ketone 55 was obtained in six steps from propargyl alcohol. An aldol reaction of 33 with the enolate of 55 prepared with (+)-DIPCl gave the desired beta-hydroxy ketone 56 bearing a (13S)-configuration in a 17-20:1 ratio with its (13R)-diastereomer. After reduction to anti diol 57 and selective protection as TIPS ether 58, the C15 hydroxyl was esterified to give phosphonate 59. An intramolecular Wadsworth-Emmons reaction of aldehyde 62, derived from delta-lactone 60, furnished macrolactone 63, which was coupled in a Stille reaction with stannane 68 to give 2 after cleavage of the TIPS ether.

Stereocontrolled Total Synthesis of (+)-Altohyrtin A/Spongistatin 1.

As an exceptionally potent antimitotic macrolide, altohyrtin A/spongistatin 1 shows great promise in cancer chemotherapy but its extreme scarcity in the natural sponges has halted its further preclinical development. A highly stereocontrolled total synthesis, which exploits boron-mediated aldol bond constructions, has been realized to provide, for the first time, a useful amount of synthetic material.