3,5-Disubstituted-indole-7-carboxamides: the discovery of a novel series of potent, selective inhibitors of IKK-ß.

The discovery and hit-to-lead exploration of a novel series of selective IKK-ß kinase inhibitors is described. The initial lead fragment 3 was identified by pharmacophore-directed virtual screening. Homology model-driven SAR exploration of the template led to potent inhibitors, such as 12, which demonstrate efficacy in cellular assays and possess encouraging developability profiles.