Discovery of CMX990: A Potent SARS-CoV-2 3CL Protease Inhibitor Bearing a Novel Warhead.

There remains a need to develop novel SARS-CoV-2 therapeutic options that improve upon existing therapies by an increased robustness of response, fewer safety liabilities, and global-ready accessibility. Functionally critical viral main protease (Mpro, 3CLpro) of SARS-CoV-2 is an attractive target due to its homology within the coronaviral family, and lack thereof toward human proteases. In this disclosure, we outline the advent of a novel SARS-CoV-2 3CLpro inhibitor, CMX990, bearing an unprecedented trifluoromethoxymethyl ketone warhead. Compared with the marketed drug nirmatrelvir (combination with ritonavir = Paxlovid), CMX990 has distinctly differentiated potency (∼5× more potent in primary cells) and human in vitro clearance (>4× better microsomal clearance and >10× better hepatocyte clearance), with good in vitro-to-in vivo correlation. Based on its compelling preclinical profile and projected once or twice a day dosing supporting unboosted oral therapy in humans, CMX990 advanced to a Phase 1 clinical trial as an oral drug candidate for SARS-CoV-2.

Selectivity for Alkynyl or Allenyl Imidamides and Imidates in Copper-Catalyzed Reactions of Terminal 1,3-Diynes and Azides.

Copper-catalyzed reactions of terminal 1,3-diynes with electron-deficient azides to generate either 3-alkynyl or 2,3-dienyl imidamides and imidates are described. The selectivity depends on the diyne substituents and the nucleophile that reacts with the ketenimide intermediate generated from the corresponding triazole precursor. Reactions of 1,3-diynes containing a propargylic acetate afford [3]cumulenyl imidamides, while reactions using methanol as the trapping agent selectively generate 2,3-dienyl imidates. Five-membered heterocycles were obtained from 1,3-diynes containing a homopropargylic hydroxyl or amine substituent.

Silver-Catalyzed Selective Multicomponent Coupling Reactions of Arynes with Nitriles and Isonitriles.

Pathway selective aryne-based novel multicomponent coupling reactions with isonitriles and nitriles are described. Crucial to these reactions is the formation of a silver-aryne complex, which shows differential reactivity toward isonitriles and nitriles to form two different forms of ortho-nitrilium organosilver arene species. Interception of the nitrilium of an aryne-isonitrile adduct with another isonitrile leads to the formation of benzocyclobutene-1,2-diimines, whereas the nitrilium of an aryne-nitrile adduct renders selective formation of 3H-indol-3-imines or 3-iminoindolin-2-ol depending on the structure of the nitrile employed.

Silver-Catalyzed Annulation of Arynes with Nitriles for Synthesis of Structurally Diverse Quinazolines.

An efficient silver catalyzed annulation reaction of aryne with nitriles to generate quinazolines is described. Arynes generated from triynes or tetraynes through a hexadehydro Diels-Alder reaction readily participated in an [A + 2B] mode of annulation with nitriles in the presence of AgSbF6 catalyst. The mechanism was explored by DFT calculations, which supports the silver-catalyzed formation of nitrilium ion as a key intermediate. This annulation generates an array of polysubstituted novel quinazoline derivatives with excellent regioselectivity.

Synthesis of Imides, Imidates, Amidines, and Amides by Intercepting the Aryne-Isocyanide Adduct with Weak Nucleophiles.

New aryne-based multicomponent coupling reactions for the formation of functionalized aromatic compounds have been developed. Arynes generated from triynes or tetraynes through the hexadehydro Diels-Alder reaction readily react with isocyanide to generate nitrilium intermediate. Intercepting this nitrilium species with various weak nucleophile including carboxylic acids, alcohols, sulfonamides, or water generated the corresponding imides, imidates, amidines, or amides. The high regioselectivity of these transformations was mainly controlled by the substituents of the arynes.

Synthesis of Phenolic Compounds by Trapping Arynes with a Hydroxy Surrogate.

Trapping of arynes with various nucleophiles provides a range of heteroatom-functionalized arene derivatives, but the corresponding reaction with water does not provide phenol derivatives. Silver trifluroacetate (AgO2CCF3) can nicely solve this problem. It was found that in typical organic solvent, AgO2CCF3 readily reacts with arynes to generate trifluoroacetoxy organosilver arene intermediate, which, upon treating with silica gel, provides phenolic products. This protocol can be extended to the synthesis of α-halofunctionalized phenol derivatives by simply adding NBS (N-bromosuccinimides) or NIS (N-iodosuccinimides) to the reaction along with silver trifluroacetate, which provided α-bromo or α-iodophenol derivatives in good yield. However, the similar reactions with NCS (N-chlorosuccinimides) afforded only the protonated product instead of the expected α-chlorophenols derivatives. Interestingly, substrates containing silyl substituents on 1,3-diynes resulted in α-halotrifluoroacetates rather than their hydrolyzed product. Additionally, trapping the same arynes with other oxygen-based nucleophiles containing silver counter cation, along with NXS (N-halosuccinimides), generated α-halooxyfunctionalized products.