1,2,4-Triazolsulfone: A novel isosteric replacement of acylsulfonamides in the context of Na1.7 inhibition.

Recently, the identification of several classes of aryl sulfonamides and acyl sulfonamides that potently inhibit Na1.7 and demonstrate high levels of selectivity over other Na isoforms have been reported. The fully ionizable nature of these inhibitors has been shown to be an important part of the pharmacophore for the observed potency and isoform selectivity.

Sulfonamides as Selective Na1.7 Inhibitors: Optimizing Potency, Pharmacokinetics, and Metabolic Properties to Obtain Atropisomeric Quinolinone (AM-0466) that Affords Robust in Vivo Activity.

Because of its strong genetic validation, Na1.7 has attracted significant interest as a target for the treatment of pain. We have previously reported on a number of structurally distinct bicyclic heteroarylsulfonamides as Na1.

Discovery of (R)-6-(1-(8-Fluoro-6-(1-methyl-1H-pyrazol-4-yl)-[1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-a]pyridin-3-yl)ethyl)-3-(2-methoxyethoxy)-1,6-naphthyridin-5(6H)-one (AMG 337), a Potent and Selective Inhibitor of MET with High Unbound Target Coverage and Robust In Vivo Antitumor Activity.

Deregulation of the receptor tyrosine kinase mesenchymal epithelial transition factor (MET) has been implicated in several human cancers and is an attractive target for small molecule drug discovery. Herein, we report the discovery of compound 23 (AMG 337), which demonstrates nanomolar inhibition of MET kinase activity, desirable preclinical pharmacokinetics, significant inhibition of MET phosphorylation in mice, and robust tumor growth inhibition in a MET-dependent mouse efficacy model.

Discovery of potent and selective 8-fluorotriazolopyridine c-Met inhibitors.

The overexpression of c-Met and/or hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), the amplification of the MET gene, and mutations in the c-Met kinase domain can activate signaling pathways that contribute to cancer progression by enabling tumor cell proliferation, survival, invasion, and metastasis. Herein, we report the discovery of 8-fluorotriazolopyridines as inhibitors of c-Met activity. Optimization of the 8-fluorotriazolopyridine scaffold through the combination of structure-based drug design, SAR studies, and metabolite identification provided potent (cellular IC50 < 10 nM), selective inhibitors of c-Met with desirable pharmacokinetic properties that demonstrate potent inhibition of HGF-mediated c-Met phosphorylation in a mouse liver pharmacodynamic model.

Discovery and optimization of potent and selective imidazopyridine and imidazopyridazine mTOR inhibitors.

mTOR is a critical regulator of cellular signaling downstream of multiple growth factors. The mTOR/PI3K/AKT pathway is frequently mutated in human cancers and is thus an important oncology target. Herein we report the evolution of our program to discover ATP-competitive mTOR inhibitors that demonstrate improved pharmacokinetic properties and selectivity compared to our previous leads.