Process Mass Intensity (PMI): A Holistic Analysis of Current Peptide Manufacturing Processes Informs Sustainability in Peptide Synthesis.

Small molecule therapeutics represent the majority of the FDA-approved drugs. Yet, many attractive targets are poorly tractable by small molecules, generating a need for new therapeutic modalities. Due to their biocompatibility profile and structural versatility, peptide-based therapeutics are a possible solution.

Identification of KLHDC2 as an efficient proximity-induced degrader of K-RAS, STK33, β-catenin, and FoxP3.

Targeted protein degradation (TPD), induced by enforcing target proximity to an E3 ubiquitin ligase using small molecules has become an important drug discovery approach for targeting previously undruggable disease-causing proteins. However, out of over 600 E3 ligases encoded by the human genome, just over 10 E3 ligases are currently utilized for TPD. Here, using the affinity-directed protein missile (AdPROM) system, in which an anti-GFP nanobody was linked to an E3 ligase, we screened over 30 E3 ligases for their ability to degrade 4 target proteins, K-RAS, STK33, β-catenin, and FoxP3, which were endogenously GFP-tagged.

Characterisation of IL-23 receptor antagonists and disease relevant mutants using fluorescent probes.

Association of single nucleotide polymorphisms in the IL-23 receptor with several auto-inflammatory diseases, led to the heterodimeric receptor and its cytokine-ligand IL-23, becoming important drug targets. Successful antibody-based therapies directed against the cytokine have been licenced and a class of small peptide antagonists of the receptor have entered clinical trials. These peptide antagonists may offer therapeutic advantages over existing anti-IL-23 therapies, but little is known about their molecular pharmacology.

Phosphine-Dependent Photoinitiation of Alkyl Thiols under Near-UV Light Facilitates User-Friendly Peptide Desulfurization.

Peptides are steadily gaining importance as pharmaceutical targets, and efficient, green methods for their preparation are critically needed. A key deficiency in the synthetic toolbox is the lack of an industrially viable peptide desulfurization method. Without this tool, the powerful native chemical ligation reaction typically used to assemble polypeptides and proteins remains out of reach for industrial preparation of drug targets.

A dual-enzyme cleavable linker for antibody-drug conjugates.

A novel enzyme cleavable linker for antibody-drug conjugates is reported. The 3-O-sulfo-β-galactose linker is cleaved sequentially by two lysosomal enzymes - arylsulfatase A and β-galactosidase - to release the payload in targeted cells. An α-HER2 antibody-drug conjugate synthesised using this highly hydrophilic dual-cleavable linker exhibited excellent cytotoxicity and selectivity.

Half-Life Extension of BMP1/TLL Metalloproteinase Inhibitors Using Small-Molecule Human Serum Albumin Binders.

Reducing the required frequence of drug dosing can improve the adherence of patients to chronic treatments. Hence, drugs with longer half-lives are highly desirable. One of the most promising approaches to extend the half-life of drugs is conjugation to human serum albumin (HSA).

Site-selective modification strategies in antibody-drug conjugates.

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) harness the highly specific targeting capabilities of an antibody to deliver a cytotoxic payload to specific cell types. They have garnered widespread interest in drug discovery, particularly in oncology, as discrimination between healthy and malignant tissues or cells can be achieved. Nine ADCs have received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration and more than 80 others are currently undergoing clinical investigations for a range of solid tumours and haematological malignancies.

Sulfatase-cleavable linkers for antibody-drug conjugates.

Antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) are a class of targeted drug delivery agents combining the cell-selectivity of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and the cytotoxicity of small molecules. These two components are joined by a covalent linker, whose nature is critical to the efficacy and safety of the ADC. Enzyme-cleavable dipeptidic linkers have emerged as a particularly effective ADC linker type due to their ability to selectively release the payload in the lysosomes of target cells.

MrgX2 is a promiscuous receptor for basic peptides causing mast cell pseudo-allergic and anaphylactoid reactions.

Activation of MrgX2, an orphan G protein-coupled receptor expressed on mast cells, leads to degranulation and histamine release. Human MrgX2 binds promiscuously to structurally diverse peptides and small molecules that tend to have basic properties (basic secretagogues), resulting in acute histamine-like adverse drug reactions of injected therapeutic agents. We set out to identify MrgX2 orthologues from other mammalian species used in nonclinical stages of drug development.

Cleavable linkers in antibody-drug conjugates.

Antibody-Drug Conjugates (ADCs) are now established as a major class of therapeutics for the clinical treatment of cancer. The properties of the linker between the antibody and the payload are proven to be critical to the success of an ADC. Although ADC linkers can be 'non-cleavable', the vast majority of ADCs in clinical development have specific release mechanisms to allow controlled linker cleavage at the target site and are thus termed 'cleavable'.

In Vivo Imaging of Small Molecular Weight Peptides for Targeted Renal Drug Delivery: A Study in Normal and Polycystic Kidney Diseased Mice.

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is a leading monogenetic cause of end-stage renal disease with limited therapeutic repertoire. A targeted drug delivery strategy that directs a small molecule to renal niches around cysts could increase the safety margins of agents that slow the progression of ADPKD but are poorly tolerated due to extrarenal toxicity. Herein, we determined whether previously characterized lysine-based and glutamic acid-based megalin-binding peptides can achieve renal-specific localization in the juvenile cystic kidney (JCK) mouse model of polycystic kidney disease and whether the distribution is altered compared with control mice.

Sustainability Challenges in Peptide Synthesis and Purification: From R&D to Production.

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in therapeutic peptides within the pharmaceutical industry with more than 50 peptide drugs on the market, approximately 170 in clinical trials, and >200 in preclinical development. However, the current state of the art in peptide synthesis involves primarily legacy technologies with use of large amounts of highly hazardous reagents and solvents and little focus on green chemistry and engineering. In 2016, the ACS Green Chemistry Institute Pharmaceutical Roundtable identified development of greener processes for peptide API as a critical unmet need, and as a result, a new Roundtable team formed to address this important area.

Coupling the core of the anticancer drug etoposide to an oligonucleotide induces topoisomerase II-mediated cleavage at specific DNA sequences.

Etoposide and other topoisomerase II-targeted drugs are important anticancer therapeutics. Unfortunately, the safe usage of these agents is limited by their indiscriminate induction of topoisomerase II-mediated DNA cleavage throughout the genome and by a lack of specificity toward cancer cells. Therefore, as a first step toward constraining the distribution of etoposide-induced DNA cleavage sites and developing sequence-specific topoisomerase II-targeted anticancer agents, we covalently coupled the core of etoposide to oligonucleotides centered on a topoisomerase II cleavage site in the PML gene.

Spectroscopic Studies of the Chan-Lam Amination: A Mechanism-Inspired Solution to Boronic Ester Reactivity.

We report an investigation of the Chan-Lam amination reaction. A combination of spectroscopy, computational modeling, and crystallography has identified the structures of key intermediates and allowed a complete mechanistic description to be presented, including off-cycle inhibitory processes, the source of amine and organoboron reactivity issues, and the origin of competing oxidation/protodeboronation side reactions. Identification of key mechanistic events has allowed the development of a simple solution to these issues: manipulating Cu(I) → Cu(II) oxidation and exploiting three synergistic roles of boric acid has allowed the development of a general catalytic Chan-Lam amination, overcoming long-standing and unsolved amine and organoboron limitations of this valuable transformation.

Chan-Evans-Lam Amination of Boronic Acid Pinacol (BPin) Esters: Overcoming the Aryl Amine Problem.

The Chan-Evans-Lam reaction is a valuable C-N bond forming process. However, aryl boronic acid pinacol (BPin) ester reagents can be difficult coupling partners that often deliver low yields, in particular in reactions with aryl amines. Herein, we report effective reaction conditions for the Chan-Evans-Lam amination of aryl BPin with alkyl and aryl amines.

One-Pot Homologation of Boronic Acids: A Platform for Diversity-Oriented Synthesis.

Formal homologation of sp(2)-hybridized boronic acids is achieved via cross-coupling of boronic acids with conjunctive haloaryl BMIDA components in the presence of a suitably balanced basic phase. The utility of this approach to provide a platform for diversity-oriented synthesis in discovery medicinal chemistry is demonstrated in the context of the synthesis of a series of analogues of a BET bromodomain inhibitor.

A diversity-oriented synthesis strategy enabling the combinatorial-type variation of macrocyclic peptidomimetic scaffolds.

Macrocyclic peptidomimetics are associated with a broad range of biological activities. However, despite such potentially valuable properties, the macrocyclic peptidomimetic structural class is generally considered as being poorly explored within drug discovery. This has been attributed to the lack of general methods for producing collections of macrocyclic peptidomimetics with high levels of structural, and thus shape, diversity.

Diversity-oriented synthesis of macrocyclic peptidomimetics.

Structurally diverse libraries of novel small molecules represent important sources of biologically active agents. In this paper we report the development of a diversity-oriented synthesis strategy for the generation of diverse small molecules based around a common macrocyclic peptidomimetic framework, containing structural motifs present in many naturally occurring bioactive compounds. Macrocyclic peptidomimetics are largely underrepresented in current small-molecule screening collections owing primarily to synthetic intractability; thus novel molecules based around these structures represent targets of significant interest, both from a biological and a synthetic perspective.

Novel and efficient copper-catalysed synthesis of nitrogen-linked medium-ring biaryls.

Herein, a new copper-catalysed strategy for the synthesis of rare nitrogen-linked seven-, eight- and nine-membered biaryl ring systems is described. It is proposed that the reaction proceeds through a highly activated intramolecularly co-ordinated copper catalyst. The process is technically simple, proceeds under relatively mild conditions, displays a broad substrate scope and forms biologically valuable products that are difficult to synthesise by other methods.

Diversity-oriented synthesis as a tool for the discovery of novel biologically active small molecules.

Biologically active molecules can be identified through the screening of small-molecule libraries. Deficiencies in current compound collections are evidenced by the continuing decline in drug-discovery successes. Typically, such collections are comprised of large numbers of structurally similar compounds.

Synthesis of unprecedented scaffold diversity.

Building a better library: The synthesis of a library of natural-product-like small molecules with unprecedented scaffold diversity has been reported (see scheme; Ns = nosylate). The library represents a significant advancement in the capability of synthetic chemists to generate structurally diverse and complex small molecules in a rapid manner.

THAL, a sterically unhindered linker for the solid-phase synthesis of acid-sensitive protected peptide acids.

The 5-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-3,4-ethylenedioxythienyl alcohol (THAL, Thiophene Acid Labile) is described as a new linker for the solid-phase synthesis of peptide carboxylic acids. It is based on the electron-rich 3,4-ethylenedioxythenyl (EDOTn) moiety and allows the obtention of free and tert-butyl-protected peptides by cleavage with 90% and 0.5% TFA, respectively.