Bispecific Estrogen Receptor α Degraders Incorporating Novel Binders Identified Using DNA-Encoded Chemical Library Screening.

Bispecific degraders (PROTACs) of ERα are expected to be advantageous over current inhibitors of ERα signaling (aromatase inhibitors/SERMs/SERDs) used to treat ER+ breast cancer. Information from DNA-encoded chemical library (DECL) screening provides a method to identify novel PROTAC binding features as the linker positioning, and binding elements are determined directly from the screen. After screening ∼120 billion DNA-encoded molecules with ERα WT and 3 gain-of-function (GOF) mutants, with and without estradiol to identify features that enrich ERα competitively, the off-DNA synthesized small molecule exemplar 7 exhibited nanomolar ERα binding, antagonism, and degradation. Click chemistry synthesis on an alkyne E3 ligase engagers panel and an azide variant of 7 rapidly generated bispecific nanomolar degraders of ERα, with PROTACs 18 and 21 inhibiting ER+ MCF7 tumor growth in a mouse xenograft model of breast cancer. This study validates this approach toward identifying novel bispecific degrader leads from DECL screening with minimal optimization.

Discovery of 3-(3-(4-(1-Aminocyclobutyl)phenyl)-5-phenyl-3H-imidazo[4,5-b]pyridin-2-yl)pyridin-2-amine (ARQ 092): An Orally Bioavailable, Selective, and Potent Allosteric AKT Inhibitor.

The work in this paper describes the optimization of the 3-(3-phenyl-3H-imidazo[4,5-b]pyridin-2-yl)pyridin-2-amine chemical series as potent, selective allosteric inhibitors of AKT kinases, leading to the discovery of ARQ 092 (21a). The cocrystal structure of compound 21a bound to full-length AKT1 confirmed the allosteric mode of inhibition of this chemical class and the role of the cyclobutylamine moiety. Compound 21a demonstrated high enzymatic potency against AKT1, AKT2, and AKT3, as well as potent cellular inhibition of AKT activation and the phosphorylation of the downstream target PRAS40. Compound 21a also served as a potent inhibitor of the AKT1-E17K mutant protein and inhibited tumor growth in a human xenograft mouse model of endometrial adenocarcinoma.

Discovery and optimization of a series of 3-(3-phenyl-3H-imidazo[4,5-b]pyridin-2-yl)pyridin-2-amines: orally bioavailable, selective, and potent ATP-independent Akt inhibitors.

This paper describes the implementation of a biochemical and biophysical screening strategy to identify and optimize small molecule Akt1 inhibitors that act through a mechanism distinct from that observed for kinase domain ATP-competitive inhibitors. With the aid of an unphosphorylated Akt1 cocrystal structure of 12j solved at 2.25 Å, it was possible to confirm that as a consequence of binding these novel inhibitors, the ATP binding cleft contained a number of hydrophobic residues that occlude ATP binding as expected. These Akt inhibitors potently inhibit intracellular Akt activation and its downstream target (PRAS40) in vitro. In vivo pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic studies with two examples, 12e and 12j, showed the series to be similarly effective at inhibiting the activation of Akt and an additional downstream effector (p70S6) following oral dosing in mice.

Diastereoselective synthesis of atropisomers containing two non-biaryl stereogenic axes: stereochemical relay through stereogenic centres in dihydrostilbene-2,2'-dicarboxamides.

Addition of laterally lithiated tertiary aromatic amides to benzaldimines controls the formation of a new stereogenic centre adjacent to the benzaldimine aromatic ring. Drawing on the fact that such amino-substituted stereogenic centres may themselves control the conformation of amides, with amido-substituted benzaldimines we found it becomes possible to relay stereochemistry from one amide to another via this intervening stereogenic centre. A group of dihydrostilbene-2,2'-dicarboxamide derivatives bearing one or two stereogenic axes are made by this method, which demonstrates the use of combined kinetic and thermodynamic control for the relay of stereochemical information.

Synthesis and structure-activity studies of antibacterial oxazolidinones containing dihydrothiopyran or dihydrothiazine C-rings.

A new series of antimicrobial oxazolidinones bearing unsaturated heterocyclic C-rings is described. Dihydrothiopyran derivatives were prepared from the saturated tetrahydrothiopyran sulfoxides via a Pummerer-rearrangement/elimination sequence. Two new synthetic approaches to the dihydrothiazine ring system were explored, the first involving a novel trifluoroacetylative-detrifluoroacetylative Pummerer-type reaction sequence and the second involving direct dehydrogenation of tetrahydrothiopyran S,S-dioxide intermediates. Final analogs such as 4 and 13 represent oxidized congeners of recent pre-clinical and clinical oxazolidinones.

Conformational preference in aromatic amides bearing chiral ortho substituents: its origin and application to relayed stereocontrol.

Tertiary aromatic amides bearing stereogenic centres ortho to the amide group may adopt two diastereoisomeric conformations which interconvert slowly on the NMR timescale at ambient temperature, and are therefore detectable by NMR. Certain classes of stereogenic centre--particularly sulfoxides, ephedrine-derived oxazolidines, and proline-derived imidazolidines--strongly bias the population of the two conformers. We propose a model, supported by molecular mechanics calculations, which rationalises the sense and magnitude of the conformational selectivity attained in terms of the steric and electronic properties of the controlling centre. The control over conformation may be exploited either by trapping the favoured conformer as an atropisomer, or by using it to relay information about the stereochemistry of the controlling centre.