Discovery of an L-alanine ester prodrug of the Hsp90 inhibitor, MPC-3100.

Various types of Hsp90 inhibitors have been and continue to undergo clinical investigation. One development candidate is the purine-based, synthetic Hsp90 inhibitor 1 (MPC-3100), which successfully completed a phase I clinical study. However, further clinical development of 1 was hindered by poor solubility and consequent formulation issues and promoted development of a more water soluble prodrug. Towards this end, numerous pro-moieties were explored in vitro and in vivo. These studies resulted in identification of L-alanine ester mesylate, 2i (MPC-0767), which exhibited improved aqueous solubility, adequate chemical stability, and rapid bioconversion without the need for solubilizing excipients. Based on improved physical characteristics and favorable PK and PD profiles, 2i mesylate was selected for further development. A convergent, scalable, chromatography-free synthesis for 2i mesylate was developed to support further clinical evaluation.

Discovery of a new HIV-1 inhibitor scaffold and synthesis of potential prodrugs of indazoles.

A new oxazole scaffold showing great promise in HIV-1 inhibition has been discovered by cell-based screening of an in-house library and scaffold modification. Follow-up SAR study focusing on the 5-aryl substituent of the oxazole core has identified 4k (EC50=0.42µM, TI=50) as a potent inhibitor. However, the analogues suffered from poor aqueous solubility. To address this issue, we have developed broadly applicable potential prodrugs of indazoles. Among them, N-acyloxymethyl analogue 11b displayed promising results (i.e., increased aqueous solubility and susceptibility to enzymatic hydrolysis). Further studies are warranted to fully evaluate the analogues as the potential prodrugs with improved physiochemical and PK properties.

Discovery of (2S)-1-[4-(2-{6-amino-8-[(6-bromo-1,3-benzodioxol-5-yl)sulfanyl]-9H-purin-9-yl}ethyl)piperidin-1-yl]-2-hydroxypropan-1-one (MPC-3100), a purine-based Hsp90 inhibitor.

Modulation of Hsp90 (heat shock protein 90) function has been recognized as an attractive approach for cancer treatment, since many cancer cells depend on Hsp90 to maintain cellular homeostasis. This has spurred the search for small-molecule Hsp90 inhibitors. Here we describe our lead optimization studies centered on the purine-based Hsp90 inhibitor 28a containing a piperidine moiety at the purine N9 position. In this study, key SAR was established for the piperidine N-substituent and for the congeners of the 1,3-benzodioxole at C8. These efforts led to the identification of orally bioavailable 28g that exhibits good in vitro profiles and a characteristic molecular biomarker signature of Hsp90 inhibition both in vitro and in vivo. Favorable pharmacokinetic properties along with significant antitumor effects in multiple human cancer xenograft models led to the selection of 28g (MPC-3100) as a clinical candidate.