Impact of Minor Structural Modifications on Properties of a Series of mTOR Inhibitors.

Minor structural modifications-sometimes single atom changes-can have a dramatic impact on the properties of compounds. This is illustrated here on structures related to known mTOR inhibitor Sapanisertib. Subtle changes in the hinge binder lead to strikingly different overall profiles with changes in physical properties, metabolism, and kinase selectivity.

Squaramides as novel class I and IIB histone deacetylase inhibitors for topical treatment of cutaneous t-cell lymphoma.

A series of squaramide-based hydroxamic acids were designed, synthesized and evaluated against human HDAC enzyme. Squaramides were found to be potent in the Hut78 cell line, but initially suffered from low solubility. Leads with improved solubility and metabolic profiles were shown to be class I, IIB and IV selective.

Structure-based design of Trifarotene (CD5789), a potent and selective RARγ agonist for the treatment of acne.

Retinoids have a dominant role in topical acne therapy and to date, only RARβ and RARγ dual agonists have reached the market. Given the tissue distribution of RAR isoforms, it was hypothesized that developing RARγ -selective agonists could yield a new generation of topical acne treatments that would increase safety margins while maintaining the robust efficacy of previous drugs. Structural knowledge derived from the X-ray structure of known γ-selective CD437, suggested the design of a novel triaryl series of agonists which was optimized and ultimately led to the discovery of Trifarotene/CD5789.

Rational Drug Design of Topically Administered Caspase 1 Inhibitors for the Treatment of Inflammatory Acne.

The use of an interleukin β antibody is currently being investigated in the clinic for the treatment of acne, a dermatological disorder affecting 650M persons globally. Inhibiting the protease responsible for the cleavage of inactive pro-IL1β into active IL-1β, caspase-1, could be an alternative small molecule approach. This report describes the discovery of uracil 20, a potent (38 nM in THP1 cells assay) caspase-1 inhibitor for the topical treatment of inflammatory acne.

Sulfoximines as potent RORγ inverse agonists.

Progress in the identification of suitable RORγ inverse agonists as clinical candidates has been hampered by the high lipophilicity that seems required for high potency on this nuclear receptor. In this context, we decided to focus on the replacement of the hydroxymethyl group found on known modulators to determine if more polarity could be tolerated in this position. SAR of the replacement of this moiety is presented in this article leading to the identification of sulfoximine derivatives as potent modulators with pharmacological activity in the in vivo mouse Imiquimod psoriasis model.

Discovery and Characterization of CD12681, a Potent RORγ Inverse Agonist, Preclinical Candidate for the Topical Treatment of Psoriasis.

With possible implications in multiple autoimmune diseases, the retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor RORγ has become a sought-after target in the pharmaceutical industry. Herein are described the efforts to identify a potent RORγ inverse agonist compatible with topical application for the treatment of skin diseases. These efforts culminated in the discovery of N-(2,4-dimethylphenyl)-N-isobutyl-2-oxo-1-[(tetrahydro-2H-pyran-4-yl)methyl]-2,3-dihydro-1H-benzo[d]imidazole-5-sulfonamide (CD12681), a potent inverse agonist with in vivo activity in an IL-23-induced mouse skin inflammation model.

New Caspase-1 inhibitor by scaffold hopping into bio-inspired 3D-fragment space.

Virtual fragmentation of a library of 12,000 compounds inspired by natural products led to a dataset of 153,000 fragments that was used as a source to identify effective P2-P3 scaffold replacement solutions for peptidic Caspase-1 inhibitors. Our strategy led to the identification of an original 2-azabicyclo-octane scaffold (2-ABO) that was further elaborated into the potent Caspase-1 inhibitor CD10847 (IC = 17 nM). The crystal structure of Caspase-1 in complex with CD10847 was obtained, and its binding mode was shown to be similar to the one predicted by docking and in good agreement with other known inhibitors.

Discovery and process development of a novel TACE inhibitor for the topical treatment of psoriasis.

Targeting the TNFα pathway is a validated approach to the treatment of psoriasis. In this pathway, TACE stands out as a druggable target and has been the focus of in-house research programs. In this article, we present the discovery of clinical candidate 26a.

Identification of novel TACE inhibitors compatible with topical application.

Targeting the Tumor Necrosis Factor α signalling with antibodies has led to a revolution in the treatment of psoriasis. Locally inhibiting Tumor Necrosis Factor α Converting Enzyme (TACE or ADAM17) could potentially mimic those effects and help treat mild to moderate psoriasis, without the reported side effect of systemic TACE inhibitors. Efforts to identify new TACE inhibitors are presented here.

Discovery of phenoxyindazoles and phenylthioindazoles as RORγ inverse agonists.

Targeting the IL17 pathway and more specifically the nuclear receptor RORγ is thought to be beneficial in multiple skin disorders. The Letter describes the discovery of phenoxyindazoles and thiophenoxy indazoles as potent RORγ inverse agonists. Optimization of the potency and efforts to mitigate the phototoxic liability of the series are presented.