Navacaprant, a novel and selective kappa opioid receptor antagonist, has no agonist properties implicated in opioid-related abuse.

Kappa opioid receptors (KORs) are implicated in the pathophysiology of various psychiatric and neurological disorders creating interest in targeting the KOR system for therapeutic purposes. Accordingly, navacaprant (NMRA-140) is a potent, selective KOR antagonist being evaluated as a treatment for major depressive disorder. In the present report, we have extended the pharmacological characterization of navacaprant by further demonstrating its selective KOR antagonist properties and confirming its lack of agonist activity at KORs and related targets involved in opioid-related abuse.

Differential effects of novel kappa opioid receptor antagonists on dopamine neurons using acute brain slice electrophysiology.

Activation of the kappa opioid receptor (KOR) contributes to the aversive properties of stress, and modulates key neuronal circuits underlying many neurobehavioral disorders. KOR agonists directly inhibit ventral tegmental area (VTA) dopaminergic neurons, contributing to aversive responses (Margolis et al. 2003, 2006); therefore, selective KOR antagonists represent a novel therapeutic approach to restore circuit function.

Design and Synthesis of a Novel and Selective Kappa Opioid Receptor (KOR) Antagonist (BTRX-335140).

κ opioid receptor (KOR) antagonists are potential pharmacotherapies for the treatment of migraine and stress-related mood disorders including depression, anxiety, and drug abuse, thus the development of novel KOR antagonists with an improved potency/selectivity profile and medication-like duration of action has attracted the interest of the medicinal chemistry community. In this paper, we describe the discovery of 1-(6-ethyl-8-fluoro-4-methyl-3-(3-methyl-1,2,4-oxadiazol-5-yl)quinolin-2-yl)- N-(tetrahydro-2 H-pyran-4-yl)piperidin-4 amine (CYM-53093, BTRX-335140) as a potent and selective KOR antagonist, endowed with favorable in vitro ADMET and in vivo pharmacokinetic profiles and medication-like duration of action in rat pharmacodynamic experiments. Orally administered CYM-53093 showed robust efficacy in antagonizing KOR agonist-induced prolactin secretion and in tail-flick analgesia in mice.

A novel class of 3-(phenoxy-phenyl-methyl)-pyrrolidines as potent and balanced norepinephrine and serotonin reuptake inhibitors: synthesis and structure-activity relationships.

A series of 3-(phenoxy-phenyl-methyl)-pyrrolidine analogues were discovered to be potent and balanced norepinephrine (NE) and serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) reuptake inhibitors. Several of these compounds were identified to have suitable in vitro pharmacokinetic properties for an orally dosed and CNS-targeted drug. Compound 39b, in particular, was identified as a potent NET and SERT reuptake inhibitor (NSRI) with minimal off-target activity and demonstrated robust efficacy in the spinal nerve ligation model of pain behavior.

Lewis Acid-Promoted Mukaiyama Aldol-Prins (MAP) Cyclizations of Acetals, Ketals, α-Acetoxy Ethers, and Orthoformates.

The Mukaiyama aldol-Prins (MAP) cyclization of acetals stereoselectively provided substituted tetrahydropyrans. The scope of the reaction has been expanded to include other electrophiles, including ketals and α-acetoxy ethers. Finally, a double MAP cyclization with orthoformates is described.

Total synthesis of leucascandrolide a: a new application of the Mukaiyama aldol-Prins reaction.

A total synthesis of the marine natural product leucascandrolide A has been completed. The titanium tetrabromide-mediated Mukaiyama aldol-Prins (MAP) reaction with aldehydes developed in our group provided a highly convergent and stereoselective method for assembling the core of the molecule. A new class of MAP reactions with acetals is introduced, and mechanistic considerations for both MAP methods are described.

Electron-poor benzonitriles as labile, stabilizing ligands in asymmetric catalysis.

[structure: see text] A chiral palladium catalyst [(S)-MeObiphep)Pd(NCAr)2(SbF6)2, (S)-4c], has been developed for a variety of asymmetric transformations. (S)-4c is bench-stable and has activity comparable to that of the nitrile free Lewis acid catalyst for Diels-Alder, hetero-Diels-Alder, and glyoxylate-ene reactions.