Discovery of BAY 94-8862: a nonsteroidal antagonist of the mineralocorticoid receptor for the treatment of cardiorenal diseases.

Aldosterone is a hormone that exerts manifold deleterious effects on the kidneys, blood vessels, and heart which can lead to pathophysiological consequences. Inhibition of the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) is a proven therapeutic concept for the management of associated diseases. Use of the currently marketed MR antagonists spironolactone and eplerenone is restricted, however, due to a lack of selectivity in spironolactone and the lower potency and efficacy of eplerenone. Several pharmaceutical companies have implemented programs to identify drugs that overcome the known liabilities of steroidal MR antagonists. Herein we disclose an extended SAR exploration starting from cyano-1,4-dihydropyridines that were identified by high-throughput screening. Our efforts led to the identification of a dihydronaphthyridine, BAY 94-8862, which is a potent, selective, and orally available nonsteroidal MR antagonist currently under investigation in a clinical phase II trial.

Design and synthesis of potent and selective azaindole-based Rho kinase (ROCK) inhibitors.

Rho kinase plays a pivotal role in several cellular processes such as vasoregulation, making it a suitable target for the treatment of hypertension and related disorders. We discovered a new compound class of Rho kinase (ROCK) inhibitors containing a 7-azaindole hinge-binding scaffold tethered to an aminopyrimidine core. Herein we describe the structure-activity relationships elucidated through biochemical and functional assays. The introduction of suitable substituents at the 3-position of the bicyclic moiety led to an increase in activity, which was required to design compounds with favorable pharmacokinetic profile. Azaindole 32 was identified as a highly selective and orally available ROCK inhibitor able to cause a sustained blood pressure reduction in vivo.

The novel selective PDE9 inhibitor BAY 73-6691 improves learning and memory in rodents.

The present study investigated the putative pro-cognitive effects of the novel selective PDE9 inhibitor BAY 73-6691. The effects on basal synaptic transmission and long-term potentiation (LTP) were investigated in rat hippocampal slices. Pro-cognitive effects were assessed in a series of learning and memory tasks using rodents as subjects. BAY 73-6691 had no effect on basal synaptic transmission in hippocampal slices prepared from young adult (7- to 8-week-old) Wistar rats. A dose of 10 microM, but not 30 microM, BAY 73-6691 enhanced early LTP after weak tetanic stimulation. The dose effective in young adult Wistar rats did not affect LTP in hippocampal slices prepared from young (7- to 8-week-old) Fischer 344 X Brown Norway (FBNF1) rats, probably reflecting strain differences. However, it increased basal synaptic transmission and enhanced early LTP after weak tetanic stimulation in hippocampal slices prepared from very old (31- to 35-month-old) FBNF1 rats. BAY 73-6691 enhanced acquisition, consolidation, and retention of long-term memory (LTM) in a social recognition task and tended to enhance LTM in an object recognition task. Bay 73-6691 attenuated the scoplamine-induced retention deficit in a passive avoidance task, and the MK-801-induced short-term memory deficits in a T-maze alternation task. The mechanism of action, possibly through modulation of the NO/cGMP-PKG/CREB pathway, is discussed. Our findings support the notion that PDE9 inhibition may be a novel target for treating memory deficits that are associated with aging and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease.

Alpha-carbonyl substituent effect on the lifetimes of triplet 1,4-biradicals from Norrish-Type-II reactions.

Triplet 1,4-biradicals were generated by Norrish-Type-II hydrogen transfer from alpha-heteroatom-substituted beta-branched butyrophenones 1-6 and detected by laser flash absorption measurements. For three oxy-substituted compounds 2-4 (R(alpha)=OH, OCOMe, OCOOEt) comparable lifetimes were determined in acetonitrile (roughly 1.5 micros). In benzene, divergent trends were observed: for the hydroxy compound 2 a lower lifetime of 790 ns was determined, whereas for 3 and 4 the lifetimes increased to 4.9 micros. Photolyses of the alpha-amino-substituted compounds 1 and 6 resulted in transient species with significant lower lifetimes (for 1 160 ns in benzene and 450 ns in acetonitrile; for 6 <100 ns in both solvents). The mesyloxy substrate 5 undergoes rapid C-O bond cleavage upon photolysis and no transient triplet species were detected. Computational (UB3 LYP/6-31G* and natural don orbital (NBO) analyses) results supported the assumption of a negative hyperconjugative interaction strongly stabilizing alpha-oxy-substituted over alpha-amino-substituted radicals.

Minor structural modifications convert a selective PPARalpha agonist into a potent, highly selective PPARdelta agonist.

We report the solid-phase synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of a new series of small-molecule agonists of the human peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta (PPARdelta) based on a lead structure from our PPARalpha program. Compound 33 showed good pharmacokinetics.

Photofragmentation of C,N-protected alpha-amino acids: comparing tert-leucine with sulfur-containing amino acids methionine and cysteine.

The photochemical fingerprint for the N-acetyl methyl ester of the aliphatic amino acid tert-leucine 1 was investigated. This reaction path was compared with the electron transfer active amino acids methionine (N-acetyl methyl ester derivative 2a as well as the methyl ester derivative 2b) and the cysteine derivatives 3a and 3b (penicillamine derivative). Photofragmenation of the ester group dominated the photolysis of 1, whereas loss of methylmercaptane was observed for 2a and 3a. Vinylglycine derivatives 11 and 14 were formed to a minor extent. The gem-dimethylated compound 3b gave a solvent-characteristic product pattern with photoelimination products 18 and 19 in acetonitrile and loss of methylmercaptane to give 20 in methanol.

Stereoselective synthesis of 2-aminocyclobutanols via photocyclization of alpha-amido alkylaryl ketones: mechanistic implications for the Norrish/Yang reaction.

A series of chiral N-acylated alpha-amino p-methylbutyrophenone derivatives 1a-1h was synthesized from alpha-amino acids via a three-step procedure. These substrates were photolyzed in benzene and gave Norrish II and Norrish I cleavage products as well as the N-acylated 2-aminocyclobutanols that derive from gamma-hydrogen abstraction and 1,4-triplet biradical combination (Yang cyclization). The products were formed with characteristic Yang/cleavage ratios. The quantum yields for the photodecomposition of the N-acetyl-protected substrates 1b,e,f were moderate (12-26%); the diastereoselectivities of the cyclobutanol formation were remarkably high for all substrates. High diastereospecificity was observed for the isoleucine derivatives (2S,3S)-1g and allo-(2S,3R)-1g; the Yang reaction dominated the photochemistry of allo-1g, whereas 1ggave preferentially Norrish II cleavage. The role of hydrogen bonding as one of the stereodirecting effects was demonstrated by comparison of the cyclization efficiency of the valine derivative 1e with 1h,i,j. Also, aromatic beta-keto esters gave the Yang cyclization products in low yields. The diastereoselectivity of the cyclobutanol formation was rationalized by a three-step mechanism where every step is connected with one distinct stereochemical induction mechanism: (a) diastereoselective hydrogen abstraction, (b) conformational equilibration of the 1,4-tetramethylene biradicals (as calculated by semiempiric methods) controlled by hydrogen bonding, and (c) diastereoselective biradical combination (versus cleavage) influenced by spin-orbit coupling controlled intersystem crossing geometries.