A re-examination of the MDM2/p53 interaction leads to revised design criteria for novel inhibitors.

The general model of epitope-type MDM2 inhibitor was developed based on the structural information on the complexes between MDM2 and various low molecular weight ligands found in the PDB database. Application of this model to our in-house library has led us to a new scaffold capable of interrupting protein-protein interactions. A synthetic library based on this and related scaffolds resulted in new classes of compounds that possess biochemical and cellular activity and good pharmacokinetic properties.