PF-03814735, an orally bioavailable small molecule aurora kinase inhibitor for cancer therapy.

The Aurora family of highly related serine/threonine kinases plays a key role in the regulation of mitosis. Aurora1 and Aurora2 play important but distinct roles in the G(2) and M phases of the cell cycle and are essential for proper chromosome segregation and cell division. Overexpression and amplification of Aurora2 have been reported in different tumor types, including breast, colon, pancreatic, ovarian, and gastric cancer. PF-03814735 is a novel, potent, orally bioavailable, reversible inhibitor of both Aurora1 and Aurora2 kinases that is currently in phase I clinical trials for the treatment of advanced solid tumors. In intact cells, the inhibitory activity of PF-03814735 on the Aurora1 and Aurora2 kinases reduces levels of phospho-Aurora1, phosphohistone H3, and phospho-Aurora2. PF-03814735 produces a block in cytokinesis, resulting in inhibition of cell proliferation and the formation of polyploid multinucleated cells. Although PF-03814735 produces significant inhibition of several other protein kinases, the predominant biochemical effects in cellular assays are consistent with inhibition of Aurora kinases. Once-daily oral administration of PF-03814735 to mice bearing human xenograft tumors produces a reduction in phosphohistone H3 in tumors at doses that are tolerable and that result in significant inhibition of tumor growth. The combination of PF-03814735 and docetaxel in xenograft mouse tumor models shows additive tumor growth inhibition. These results support the clinical evaluation of PF-03814735 in cancer patients. Mol Cancer Ther; 9(4); 883-94. (c)2010 AACR.

Discovery and pharmacologic characterization of CP-724,714, a selective ErbB2 tyrosine kinase inhibitor.

Amplification and overexpression of erbB2 (Her-2/neu) proto-oncogene has been linked to human malignancies including tumors of the breast, ovary, and stomach. It has been implicated in tumor growth, sensitivity to standard chemotherapy, prognosis of patients, and disease-free survival. Although the clinical use of trastuzumab (Herceptin) has prolonged the survival of breast cancer patients with erbB2-overexpressing tumors, there is an urgent need for more potent and orally bioavailable small-molecule inhibitors. CP-724,714 is a potent inhibitor of erbB2 receptor autophosphorylation in intact cells and is currently undergoing phase I clinical trials. Here, we describe the effects of CP-724,714 in vitro and in vivo in human breast cancer models. CP-724,714 is selective for inhibiting growth of HER2-driven cell lines. In addition, we show that it induces G1 cell cycle block in erbB2-overexpressing BT-474 human breast carcinoma cells and inhibits erbB2 autophosphorylation in xenografts when administered p.o. to athymic mice. It induces a marked reduction of extracellular signal-regulated kinase and Akt phosphorylation, tumor cell apoptosis, and release of caspase-3. P.o. administration (q.d. or b.i.d.) of CP-724,714 inhibits the growth of erbB2-overexpressing tumors in athymic mice without overt adverse effects.

The discovery of highly selective erbB2 (Her2) inhibitors for the treatment of cancer.

The synthesis and biological evaluation of potent and selective inhibitors of the erbB2 kinase is presented. Based on the 4-anilinoquinazoline chemotype, the syntheses of several new series of erbB2 inhibitors are described with quinazoline and pyrido[4,3-d]pyrimidine cores. The vast majority of these compounds are found to be >100x selective over the closely related EGFR kinase. Two lead compounds are further shown to have low clearance and moderate bioavailability in rat.

Combination therapy enhances the inhibition of tumor growth with the fully human anti-type 1 insulin-like growth factor receptor monoclonal antibody CP-751,871.

PURPOSE: The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) signaling pathway is implicated in cellular mitogenesis, angiogenesis, tumor cell survival, and tumorigenesis. Inhibition of this pathway results in decreased cell growth, inhibition of tumor formation in animal models, and increased apoptosis in cells treated with cytotoxic chemotherapy. We generated and characterized a human monoclonal antibody that targeted the IGF receptor. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: By use of XenoMouse technology, we generated CP-751,871, a fully human IgG2 antibody with high affinity (K(d) = 1.5 nmol/L) for human IGF-1R and evaluated its biological, pharmacologic, and antitumor properties. RESULTS: This antibody blocks binding of IGF-1 to its receptor (IC(50) 1.8 nmol/L), IGF-1-induced receptor autophosphorylation (IC(50) 0.42 nmol/L) and induced the down-regulation of IGF-1R in vitro and in tumor xenografts. The extent of IGF-1R down-regulation in vivo was proportional to CP-751,871 concentrations in the serum of tumor-bearing mice. Pharmacokinetic profiles in cynomolgus monkeys indicated a close to linear increase of exposure following i.v. dosing of antibody in the range of 3 to 100 mg/kg. CP-751,871 showed significant antitumor activity both as a single agent and in combination with Adriamycin, 5-fluorouracil, or tamoxifen in multiple tumor models. A biomarker assay was developed to establish the relationship between circulating antibody concentrations and down-regulation of IGF-1R in peripheral blood cells. The concentration of CP-751,871 required to down-regulate 50% of IGF-1R on peripheral blood cells was 0.3 nmol/L. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that inhibition of the IGF cascade by use of this monoclonal antibody may be of clinical benefit in the treatment of human cancers.

Prevention of organ allograft rejection by a specific Janus kinase 3 inhibitor.

Because of its requirement for signaling by multiple cytokines, Janus kinase 3 (JAK3) is an excellent target for clinical immunosuppression. We report the development of a specific, orally active inhibitor of JAK3, CP-690,550, that significantly prolonged survival in a murine model of heart transplantation and in cynomolgus monkeys receiving kidney transplants. CP-690,550 treatment was not associated with hypertension, hyperlipidemia, or lymphoproliferative disease. On the basis of these preclinical results, we believe JAK3 blockade by CP-690,550 has potential for therapeutically desirable immunosuppression in human organ transplantation and in other clinical settings.

The biological and biochemical effects of CP-654577, a selective erbB2 kinase inhibitor, on human breast cancer cells.

Aberrant expression or activity of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFr) or the closely related p185(erbB2) can promote cell proliferation and survival and thereby contribute to tumorigenesis. Specific antibodies and low molecular-weight tyrosine kinase inhibitors of both proteins are in clinical trials for cancer treatment. CP-654577 is a potent inhibitor selective for p185(erbB2), relative to EGFr tyrosine kinase, and selectively reduces erbB2 autophosphorylation in intact cells. Treatment of SKBr3 human breast cancer cells with CP-654577 reduces the levels of the activated form of mitogen-activated protein kinase, increases the levels of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27(kip1) and reduces expression of cyclins D and E. These biochemical changes result in a reduced level of phosphorylated retinoblastoma protein and an inhibition of cell-cycle progression at G(1). Apoptosis is triggered in both SKBr3 and another high erbB2-expressing cell line, BT474, by exposure to 1 micro M CP-654577, but this effect is not observed in MCF7 cells that express low erbB2. Levels of activated Akt, an important positive regulator of cell survival, are reduced within 2 h of exposure to 250 nM CP-654577, and this may contribute to the increased apoptosis. These biochemical effects are distinct from those produced by Tarceva, a selective EGFr inhibitor. The antitumor activity of CP-654577 was investigated in athymic mice bearing s.c. tumors from Fischer rat embryo fibroblasts transfected with erbB2. CP-654577 produced a dose-dependent reduction of p185(erbB2) autophosphorylation and inhibited the growth of these tumors. CP-654577 warrants further evaluation in tumors with high expression of p185(erbB2) and may differ from selective EGFr inhibitors or nonselective dual EGFr/erbB2 inhibitors in efficacy and therapeutic index.

Achieving selectivity between highly homologous tyrosine kinases: a novel selective erbB2 inhibitor.

The discovery of small molecule kinase inhibitors for use as drugs is a promising approach for the treatment of cancer and other diseases, but the discovery of highly specific agents is challenging because over 850 kinases are expressed in mammalian cells. Systematic modification of the 4-anilino functionality of a selective quinazoline inhibitor of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase can invert selectivity to favor inhibition of the highly homologous erbB2 tyrosine kinase. The selectivity pattern was demonstrated in assays of recombinant kinases and recapitulated in measures of kinase activity in intact cells. The most potent and selective erbB2 inhibitor of the analog series has anti-proliferative activity against an erbB2-overexpressing cell line that was lacking in the original EGFR-selective compound. Subtle changes to the molecular structure of ATP-competitive small molecule inhibitors of tyrosine kinases can yield dramatic changes in potency and selectivity. These results suggest that the discovery of highly selective small molecule inhibitors of very homologous kinases is achievable.