Discovery and in Vivo Evaluation of Macrocyclic Mcl-1 Inhibitors Featuring an α-Hydroxy Phenylacetic Acid Pharmacophore or Bioisostere.

Overexpression of the antiapoptotic protein Mcl-1 provides a survival advantage to some cancer cells, making inhibition of this protein an attractive therapeutic target for the treatment of certain types of tumors. Herein, we report our efforts toward the identification of a novel series of macrocyclic Mcl-1 inhibitors featuring an α-hydroxy phenylacetic acid pharmacophore or bioisostere. This work led to the discovery of 1, a potent Mcl-1 inhibitor (IC50 = 19 nM in an OPM-2 cell viability assay) with good pharmacokinetic properties and excellent in vivo efficacy in an OPM-2 multiple myeloma xenograft model.

Diastereoselective synthesis of fused cyclopropyl-3-amino-2,4-oxazine ß-amyloid cleaving enzyme (BACE) inhibitors and their biological evaluation.

The diastereoselective synthesis and structure activity relationship (SAR) of a series of fused cyclopropyl-3-amino-2,4-oxazine (2-oxa-4-azabicyclo[4.1.0]hept-3-en-3-amine)-containing BACE inhibitors is described. Through these efforts compound 2 was identified as a potent (cell IC50 = 15 nM) BACE inhibitor with acceptable ADME properties. When tested in vivo, compound 2 demonstrated a significant reduction of brain and cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) Aß40 levels (46% and 66%, respectively) in a rat pharmacodynamic study and thus represents a suitable starting point for the further development of in vivo efficacious compounds for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.