Pyrazole NNRTIs 4: selection of UK-453,061 (lersivirine) as a development candidate.

We prepared three discreet cohorts of potent non-nucleoside HIV reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs) based on the recently reported 3-cyanophenoxypyrazole lead 3. Several of these compounds displayed very promising anti-HIV activity in vitro, safety, pharmacokinetic and pharmaceutical profiles. We describe our analysis and conclusions leading to the selection of alcohol 5 (UK-453,061, lersivirine) for clinical development.