Discovery of the c-Jun N-Terminal Kinase Inhibitor CC-90001.

As a result of emerging biological data suggesting that within the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) family, JNK1 and not JNK2 or JNK3 may be primarily responsible for fibrosis pathology, we sought to identify JNK inhibitors with an increased JNK1 bias relative to our previous clinical compound tanzisertib (CC-930). This manuscript reports the synthesis and structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies for a novel series of JNK inhibitors demonstrating an increased JNK1 bias. SAR optimization on a series of 2,4-dialkylamino-pyrimidine-5-carboxamides resulted in the identification of compounds possessing low nanomolar JNK inhibitory potency, overall kinome selectivity, and the ability to inhibit cellular phosphorylation of the direct JNK substrate c-Jun. Optimization of physicochemical properties in this series resulted in compounds that demonstrated excellent systemic exposure following oral dosing, enabling in vivo efficacy studies and the selection of a candidate for clinical development, CC-90001, which is currently in clinical trials (Phase II) in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (NCT03142191).

Discovery of CC-930, an orally active anti-fibrotic JNK inhibitor.

In this Letter we describe the discovery of potent, selective, and orally active aminopurine JNK inhibitors. Improving the physico-chemical properties as well as increasing the potency and selectivity of a subseries with rat plasma exposure, led to the identification of four structurally diverse inhibitors. Differentiation based on PK profiles in multiple species as well as activity in a chronic efficacy model led to the identification of 1 (CC-930) as a development candidate, which is currently in Phase II clinical trial for IPF.

Solid-phase synthesis of naphthylamidines as factor VIIa/tissue factor inhibitors.

Reductive amination followed by acylation of polymer-linked formyl aryl amidines generate combinatorial libraries of aryl amidines 8-13. Potent small molecule naphthylamidine inhibitors 12 (Ki<100 nM) of FVIIa/TF have been discovered and their activity against other serine proteases in the coagulation cascade is reported.

Design, synthesis, and activity of a novel series of factor Xa inhibitors: optimization of arylamidine groups.

A novel series of diaryloxypyridines have been designed as selective nanomolar factor Xa (fXa) inhibitors for use as anticoagulants. In this paper, we describe our efforts to identify an additional interaction and a replacement for the distal amidine group that binds in the S3/S4 pocket of fXa. Introduction of a hydroxyl group para to the proximal amidine group increases the potency vs fXa by 1-2 orders of magnitude, which is the result of a hydrogen bond to Ser195 of the catalytic triad. A methyl imidazoline and a dimethylamide are good alternatives for the second amidine. These substitutions have increased the selectivity vs the related serine proteases trypsin and thrombin. The synthesis, in vitro activity, and hypothetical modes of binding to fXa based on trypsin crystallographic data are outlined.

Multiplex gene expression analysis for high-throughput drug discovery: screening and analysis of compounds affecting genes overexpressed in cancer cells.

Drug discovery strategies are needed that can rapidly exploit multiple therapeutic targets associated with the complex gene expression changes that characterize a polygenic disease such as cancer. We report a new cell-based high-throughput technology for screening chemical libraries against several potential cancer target genes in parallel. Multiplex gene expression (MGE) analysis provides direct and quantitative measurement of multiple endogenous mRNAs using a multiplexed detection system coupled to reverse transcription-PCR. A multiplex assay for six genes overexpressed in cancer cells was used to screen 9000 chemicals and known drugs in the human prostate cancer cell line PC-3. Active compounds that modulated gene expression levels were identified, and IC50 values were determined for compounds that bind DNA, cell surface receptors, and components of intracellular signaling pathways. A class of steroids related to the cardiac glycosides was identified that potently inhibited the plasma membrane Na(+)K(+)-ATPase resulting in the inhibition of four of the prostate target genes including transcription factors Hoxb-13, hPSE/PDEF, hepatocyte nuclear factor-3alpha, and the inhibitor of apoptosis, survivin. Representative compounds selectively induced apoptosis in PC-3 cells compared with the nonmetastatic cell line BPH-1. The multiplex assay distinguished potencies among structural variants, enabling structure-activity analysis suitable for chemical optimization studies. A second multiplex assay for five toxicological markers, Hsp70, Gadd153, Gadd45, O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase, and cyclophilin, detected compounds that caused DNA damage and cellular stress and was a more sensitive and specific indicator of potential toxicity than measurement of cell viability. MGE analysis facilitates rapid drug screening and compound optimization, the simultaneous measurement of toxicological end points, and gene function analysis.