Design and Synthesis of Covalent Inhibitors of FabA.

There is an urgent need for the development of new therapeutics with novel modes of action to target Gram-negative bacterial infections, due to resistance to current drugs. Previously, FabA, an enzyme in the bacterial type II fatty acid biosynthesis pathway, was identified as a potential drug target in , a Gram-negative bacteria of significant clinical concern. A chemical starting point was also identified.

Synthesis of a Series of Diaminoindoles.

A selection of 3,4-diaminoindoles were required for a recent drug discovery project. To this end, a 10-step synthesis was developed from 4-nitroindole. This synthesis was subsequently adapted and used to synthesize 3,5-; 3,6-; and 3,7-diaminoindoles from the corresponding 5-, 6-, or 7-nitroindole.

Identification of 6-amino-1-pyrazolo[3,4-]pyrimidines with efficacy against visceral leishmaniasis.

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) affects millions of people across the world, largely in developing nations. It is fatal if left untreated and the current treatments are inadequate. As such, there is an urgent need for new, improved medicines.

Discovery of an Allosteric Binding Site in Kinetoplastid Methionyl-tRNA Synthetase.

Methionyl-tRNA synthetase (MetRS) is a chemically validated drug target in kinetoplastid parasites and . To date, all kinetoplastid MetRS inhibitors described bind in a similar way to an expanded methionine pocket and an adjacent, auxiliary pocket. In the current study, we have identified a structurally novel class of inhibitors containing a 4,6-diamino-substituted pyrazolopyrimidine core (the MetRS02 series).

Characterising covalent warhead reactivity.

Many drugs currently used are covalent inhibitors and irreversibly inhibit their targets. Most of these were discovered through serendipity. Covalent inhibitions can have many advantages from a pharmacokinetic perspective.

Identification of GSK3186899/DDD853651 as a Preclinical Development Candidate for the Treatment of Visceral Leishmaniasis.

The leishmaniases are diseases that affect millions of people across the world, in particular visceral leishmaniasis (VL) which is fatal unless treated. Current standard of care for VL suffers from multiple issues and there is a limited pipeline of new candidate drugs. As such, there is a clear unmet medical need to identify new treatments.

Essential but Not Vulnerable: Indazole Sulfonamides Targeting Inosine Monophosphate Dehydrogenase as Potential Leads against Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

A potent, noncytotoxic indazole sulfonamide was identified by high-throughput screening of >100,000 synthetic compounds for activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). This noncytotoxic compound did not directly inhibit cell wall biogenesis but triggered a slow lysis of Mtb cells as measured by release of intracellular green fluorescent protein (GFP). Isolation of resistant mutants followed by whole-genome sequencing showed an unusual gene amplification of a 40 gene region spanning from Rv3371 to Rv3411c and in one case a potential promoter mutation upstream of guaB2 (Rv3411c) encoding inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH).

Respiratory flexibility in response to inhibition of cytochrome C oxidase in Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

We report here a series of five chemically diverse scaffolds that have in vitro activities on replicating and hypoxic nonreplicating bacilli by targeting the respiratory bc1 complex in Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a strain-dependent manner. Deletion of the cytochrome bd oxidase generated a hypersusceptible mutant in which resistance was acquired by a mutation in qcrB. These results highlight the promiscuity of the bc1 complex and the risk of targeting energy metabolism with new drugs.