Discovery of potent, selective and orally bioavailable imidazo[1,5-a]pyrazine derived ACK1 inhibitors.

This Letter describes the medicinal chemistry effort towards a series of novel imidazo[1,5-a]pyrazine derived inhibitors of ACK1. Virtual screening led to the discovery of the initial hit, and subsequent exploration of structure-activity relationships and optimization of drug metabolism and pharmacokinetic properties led to the identification of potent, selective and orally bioavailable ACK1 inhibitors.

Potent and selective cyclohexyl-derived imidazopyrazine insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor inhibitors with in vivo efficacy.

Preclinical and emerging clinical evidence suggests that inhibiting insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R) signaling may offer a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of several types of cancer. This Letter describes the medicinal chemistry effort towards a series of 8-amino-imidazo[1,5-a]pyrazine derived inhibitors of IGF-1R which features a substituted quinoline moiety at the C1 position and a cyclohexyl linking moiety at the C3 position. Lead optimization efforts which included the optimization of structure-activity relationships and drug metabolism and pharmacokinetic properties led to the identification of compound 9m, a potent, selective and orally bioavailable inhibitor of IGF-1R with in vivo efficacy in an IGF-driven mouse xenograft model.

Novel 2-phenylquinolin-7-yl-derived imidazo[1,5-a]pyrazines as potent insulin-like growth factor-I receptor (IGF-IR) inhibitors.

A series of novel, potent quinolinyl-derived imidazo[1,5-a]pyrazine IGF-IR (IGF-1R) inhibitors--most notably, cis-3-(3-azetidin-1-ylmethylcyclobutyl)-1-(2-phenylquinolin-7-yl)imidazo[1,5-a]pyrazin-8-ylamine (AQIP)--is described. Synthetic details, structure-activity relationships, and in vitro biological activity are reported for the series. Key in vitro and in vivo biological results for AQIP are reported, including: inhibition of ligand-stimulated autophosphorylation of IGF-IR and downstream pathways in 3T3/huIGFIR cells; inhibition of proliferation and induction of DNA fragmentation in human tumor cell lines; a pharmacokinetic profile suitable for once-per-day oral dosing; antitumor activity in a 3T3/huIGFIR xenograft model; and effects on insulin and glucose levels.

Large-scale preparation of key building blocks for the manufacture of fully synthetic macrolide antibiotics.

Key building blocks for the production of fully synthetic macrolides have been scaled-up in first time pilot plant and kilo-lab campaigns. These building blocks have supported the discovery of new macrolide antibiotics as well as ongoing preclinical studies.