Discovery of a class of potent gap-junction modifiers as novel antiarrhythmic agents.

In an effort to discover potent, orally bioavailable compounds for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) and ventricular tachycardia (VT), we developed a class of gap-junction modifiers typified by GAP-134 (1, R(1)=OH, R(2)=NH(2)), a compound currently under clinical evaluation. Selected compounds with the desired in-vitro profile demonstrated positive in vivo results in the mouse CaCl(2) arrhythmia model upon oral administration.