The total synthesis of cytostatin, an antitumor agent belonging to the fostriecin family of natural products is described in full detail. The convergent approach relied on a key epoxide opening reaction to join the two stereotriad units and a single-step late stage, stereoselective installation of the sensitive (Z,Z,E)-triene through a β-chelation controlled nucleophilic addition. The synthetic route provided rapid access to the C4-C6 stereoisomers of the cytostatin lactone, which were prepared and used to define the C4-C6 relative stereochemistry of the natural product. In addition to the natural product, each of the C10-C11 diastereomers of cytostatin was divergently prepared (11 steps from key convergence step) by this route and used to unequivocally confirm the relative and absolute stereochemistry of cytostatin. Each of the cytostatin diastereomers exhibited a reduced activity towards inhibition of PP2A (>100-fold), demonstrating the importance of the presence and stereochemistry of the C10-methyl and C11-hydroxy groups for potent PP2A inhibition. Extensions of the studies provided dephosphocytostatin (40), sulfocytostatin (67, a key analogue related to the natural product sultriecin), 11-deshydroxycytostatin (78), and 72 lacking the entire C12-C18 (Z,Z,E)-triene segment and were used to define the magnitude of the C9-phosphate (>4000-fold), C11-alcohol (250-fold), and triene (220-fold) contribution to PP2A inhibition. A model of cytostatin bound to the active site of PP2A is presented, compared to that of fostriecin which is also presented in detail for the first time, and used to provide insights into the role of the key substituents. Notably, the α,β-unsaturated lactone of cytostatin, like that of fostriecin, is projected to serve as a key electrophile providing a covalent adduct with Cys269 unique to PP2A contributing to its potency (≥200-fold for fostriecin) and accounting for its selectivity.

The emergence and evolution of new immunological cancer therapies has sparked a rapidly growing interest in discovering novel pathways to treat cancer. Toward this aim, a novel series of pyrrolidine derivatives (compound ) were identified as potent inhibitors of ERK1/2 with excellent kinase selectivity and dual mechanism of action but suffered from poor pharmacokinetics (PK). The challenge of PK was overcome by the discovery of a novel 3()-thiomethyl pyrrolidine analog . Lead optimization through focused structure-activity relationship led to the discovery of a clinical candidate suitable for twice daily oral dosing as a potential new cancer therapeutic.

Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) is a Tec family kinase with a well-defined role in the B cell receptor (BCR) pathway. It has become an attractive kinase target for selective B cell inhibition and for the treatment of B cell related diseases. We report a series of compounds based on 8-amino-imidazo[1,5-a]pyrazine that are potent reversible BTK inhibitors with excellent kinase selectivity. Selectivity is achieved through specific interactions of the ligand with the kinase hinge and driven by aminopyridine hydrogen bondings with Ser538 and Asp539, and by hydrophobic interaction of trifluoropyridine in the back pocket. These interactions are evident in the X-ray crystal structure of the lead compounds 1 and 3 in the complex with the BTK enzyme. Our lead compounds show desirable PK profiles and efficacy in the preclinical rat collagen induced arthritis model.

An automated high throughput screening approach to optimizing strong base-mediated metalations.