Balancing potency, metabolic stability and permeability in pyrrolopyrimidine-based EGFR inhibitors.

The present study describes our continuous effort to develop epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors based on the 6-aryl-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-amine scaffold. The activity-ADME space has been evaluated by synthesizing 43 new structures, including four variations of the 4-amino group and 34 different substitution patterns in the 6-aryl moiety. Most of the new pyrrolopyrimidines were highly active, with twelve analogues possessing lower IC values than the commercial drug Erlotinib in enzymatic assays.