3-((R)-4-(((R)-6-(2-Bromo-4-fluorophenyl)-5-(ethoxycarbonyl)-2-(thiazol-2-yl)-3,6-dihydropyrimidin-4-yl)methyl)morpholin-2-yl)propanoic Acid (HEC72702), a Novel Hepatitis B Virus Capsid Inhibitor Based on Clinical Candidate GLS4.

The inhibition of hepatitis B virus (HBV) capsid assembly is a novel strategy for the development of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) therapeutics. On the basis of the preclinical properties and clinical results of GLS4, we carried out further investigation to seek a better candidate compound with appropriate anti-HBV potency, reduced hERG activity, decreased CYP enzyme induction, and improved pharmacokinetic (PK) properties. To this end, we have successfully found that morpholine carboxyl analogues with comparable anti-HBV activities to that of GLS4 showed decreased hERG activities, but they displayed strong CYP3A4 induction in a concentration-dependent manner, except for morpholine propionic acid analogues.