Fragment based drug discovery (FBDD) is a widely used tool for discovering novel therapeutics. NMR is a powerful means for implementing FBDD, and several approaches have been proposed utilizing (1)H-(15)N heteronuclear single quantum coherence (HSQC) as well as one-dimensional (1)H and (19)F NMR to screen compound mixtures against a target of interest. While proton-based NMR methods of fragment screening (FBS) have been well documented and are widely used, the use of (19)F detection in FBS has been only recently introduced (Vulpetti et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc.2009, 131 (36), 12949-12959) with the aim of targeting "fluorophilic" sites in proteins. Here, we demonstrate a more general use of (19)F NMR-based fragment screening in several areas: as a key tool for rapid and sensitive detection of fragment hits, as a method for the rapid development of structure-activity relationship (SAR) on the hit-to-lead path using in-house libraries and/or commercially available compounds, and as a quick and efficient means of assessing target druggability.
The high expression of proviral insertion site of Moloney murine leukemia virus kinases (Pim-1, -2, and -3) in cancers, particularly the hematopoietic malignancies, is believed to play a role in promoting cell survival and proliferation while suppressing apoptosis. The three isoforms of Pim protein appear largely redundant in their oncogenic functions. Thus, a pan-Pim kinase inhibitor is highly desirable. However, cell active pan-Pim inhibitors have proven difficult to develop because Pim-2 has a low Km for ATP and therefore requires a very potent inhibitor to effectively block the kinase activity at cellular ATP concentrations. Herein, we report a series of quinazolinone-pyrrolopyrrolones as potent and selective pan-Pim inhibitors. In particular, compound 17 is orally efficacious in a mouse xenograft model (KMS-12 BM) of multiple myeloma, with 93% tumor growth inhibition at 50 mg/kg QD upon oral dosing.
Pim kinases are a
family of constitutively active serine/threonine
kinases that are partially redundant and regulate multiple pathways
important for cell growth and survival. In human disease, high expression
of the three Pim isoforms has been implicated in the progression of
hematopoietic and solid tumor cancers, which suggests that Pim kinase
inhibitors could provide patients with therapeutic benefit. Herein,
we describe the structure-guided optimization of a series of quinazolinone-pyrrolodihydropyrrolone
analogs leading to the identification of potent pan-Pim inhibitor 28 with improved potency, solubility, and drug-like properties.
Compound 28 demonstrated on-target Pim activity in an
in vivo pharmacodynamic assay with significant inhibition of BAD phosphorylation
in KMS-12-BM multiple myeloma tumors for 16 h postdose. In a 2-week
mouse xenograft model, daily dosing of compound 28 resulted
in 33% tumor regression at 100 mg/kg.
A platform that incorporates computational library design, parallel solution-phase synthesis, continuous flow hydrogenation, and automated high throughput purification and reformatting technologies was applied to the production of a 120-member library of 1-aryl-4-aminopiperidine analogues for drug discovery screening. The application described herein demonstrates the advantages of computational library design coupled with a flexible, modular approach to library synthesis. The enabling technologies described can be readily adopted by the traditional medicinal chemist without extensive training and lengthy process development times.
We report the discovery of a novel series of 2-(3-alkoxy-1-azetidinyl) quinolines as potent and selective PDE10A inhibitors. Structure-activity studies improved the solubility (pH 7.4) and maintained high PDE10A activity compared to initial lead compound 3, with select compounds demonstrating good oral bioavailability. X-ray crystallographic studies revealed two distinct binding modes to the catalytic site of the PDE10A enzyme. An ex vivo receptor occupancy assay in rats demonstrated that this series of compounds covered the target within the striatum.
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