Discovery and evaluation of 4-(2-(4-chloro-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)ethylamino)-3-(6-(1-(3-fluoropropyl)piperidin-4-yl)-4-methyl-1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-yl)pyridin-2(1H)-one (BMS-695735), an orally efficacious inhibitor of insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor kinase with broad spectrum in vivo antitumor activity

Designing Out PXR Activity on Drug Discovery Projects: A Review of Structure-Based Methods, Empirical and Computational Approaches

This perspective discusses the role of pregnane xenobiotic receptor (PXR) in drug discovery and the impact of its activation on CYP3A4 induction. The use of structural biology to reduce PXR activity on drug discovery projects has become more common in recent years. Analysis of this work highlights several important molecular interactions, and the resultant structural modifications to reduce PXR activity are summarized. The computational approaches undertaken to support the design of new drugs devoid of PXR activation potential are also discussed. Finally, the SAR of empirical design strategies to reduce PXR activity is reviewed, and the key SAR transformations are discussed and summarized. In conclusion, this perspective demonstrates that PXR activity can be greatly diminished or negated on active drug discovery projects with the knowledge now available. This perspective should be useful to anyone who seeks to reduce PXR activity on a drug discovery project.

Application of Cassette Ultracentrifugation Using Non-labeled Compounds and Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry Analysis for High-Throughput Protein Binding Determination

Membrane-based devices typically used for serum protein binding determination are not fully applicable to highly lipophilic compounds because of nonspecific binding to the device membrane. Ultracentrifugation, however, completely eliminates the issue by using a membrane-free approach, although its wide application has been limited. This lack of utilization is mainly attributed to 2 factors: the high cost in acquiring and handling of radiolabeled compounds and low assay throughput owing to the difficulties in process automation. To overcome these challenges, we report a high-throughput workflow by cassette ultracentrifugation of nonradiolabeled compounds followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis. Twenty compounds with diverse physicochemical and protein binding properties were selected for the evaluation of the workflow. To streamline the working process, approaches of matrix balancing for all the samples for LC-MS/MS analysis and determining free fraction without analytical calibration curves were adopted. Both the discrete ultracentrifugation of individual compounds and cassette ultracentrifugation of all the test compounds followed by simultaneous LC-MS/MS analysis exhibited a linear correlation with literature values, demonstrating respectively the validity of the ultracentrifugation process and the cassette approach. The cassette ultracentrifugation using nonradiolabeled compounds followed by LC-MS/MS analysis has greatly facilitated its application for high-throughput protein binding screening in drug discovery.

A convergent approach to the total synthesis of telmisartan via a Suzuki cross-coupling reaction between two functionalized benzimidazoles

A direct and efficient total synthesis has been developed for telmisartan, a widely prescribed treatment for hypertension. This approach brings together two functionalized benzimidazoles using a high-yielding Suzuki reaction that can be catalyzed by either a homogeneous palladium source or graphene-supported palladium nanoparticles. The ability to perform the cross-coupling reaction was facilitated by the regio-controlled preparation of the 2-bromo-1-methylbenzimidazole precursor. This convergent approach provides telmisartan in an overall yield of 72% while circumventing many issues associated with previously reported processes.

Comprehensive Review in Current Developments of Benzimidazole-Based Medicinal Chemistry

The properties of benzimidazole and its derivatives have been studied over more than one hundred years. Benzimidazole derivatives are useful intermediates/subunits for the development of molecules of pharmaceutical or biological interest. Substituted benzimidazole derivatives have found applications in diverse therapeutic areas such as antiulcer, anticancer agents, and anthelmintic species to name just a few. This work systematically gives a comprehensive review in current developments of benzimidazole-based compounds in the whole range of medicinal chemistry as anticancer, antibacterial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, analgesic agents, anti-HIV, antioxidant, anticonvulsant, antitubercular, antidiabetic, antileishmanial, antihistaminic, antimalarial agents, and other medicinal agents. This review will further be helpful for the researcher on the basis of substitution pattern around the nucleus with an aim to help medicinal chemists for developing an SAR on benzimidazole drugs/compounds.

Synthesis and in vitro cytotoxic evaluation of novel N-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)pyridin-2(1H)-one derivatives

A series of novel [Formula: see text]-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)pyridin-2([Formula: see text])-one derivatives were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their in vitro cytotoxicity against human colon cancer cells HCT-116. The key steps involved consecutive Chan-Lam- and Buchwald-Hartwig couplings. Most of these C-6 substituted pyridone derivatives showed moderate antiproliferative activity. The preliminary SAR indicated that the conformationally restricted pyridones exhibited more potent cytotoxicity than the flexible counterparts. In addition, cell cycle analysis of the selected compounds 4b and e showed a G2/M arrest, suggesting a possible antitubulin mechanism for these novel pyridone derivatives.

Small-molecule ATP-competitive dual IGF-1R and insulin receptor inhibitors: structural insights, chemical diversity and molecular evolution

IGF-1R has been recognized as a major target in cancer drug discovery due to its strong implications in various stages of tumorigenesis based on accumulated preclinical data. Recent research on compensatory crosstalk between IGF-1R and insulin receptor (IR) signaling pathways suggests that targeting both IGF-1R and IR should result in a more therapeutically beneficial response, than targeting IGF-1R alone (e.g., IGF-1R-specific antibodies). These findings provided biological rationale and opened the door to the discovery of a variety of small-molecule dual IGF-1R and IR inhibitors. In this review we summarize the recent developments in this field, with a focus on binding modes and binding interactions of these inhibitors with IGF-1R and/or IR. Selectivity of these inhibitors has been discussed in this context as well. This is an important area to be discussed since one of the major challenges in kinase inhibitor drug discovery is to build an optimal selectivity profile based on biological rationale.

An insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor inhibitor induces CYP3A4 expression through a pregnane X receptor-independent, noncanonical constitutive androstane receptor-related mechanism

Inhibition of insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) signaling represents an attractive therapeutic strategy for cancer treatment. A first-generation IGF-1R inhibitor (R)-4-(3-(3-chlorophenyl)-3-hydroxypropyl)-3-(4-methyl-6-morpholino-1H-benzo[d]imidazol-2-yl)pyridin-2(1H)-one (BMS-536924), however, was associated with potent CYP3A4 induction mediated by pregnane X receptor (PXR; NR1I2) transactivation. Structural activity-based modification led to the synthesis of 4-(1-(2-(4-((2-(4-chloro-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)ethyl)amino)-2-oxo-1,2-dihydropyridin-3-yl)-4-methyl-1H-benzo[d]imidazol-6-yl)piperidin-4-yl) piperazine-1-carboxylate (BMS-665351) with no PXR activity while maintaining its ability to inhibit IGF-1R. However, BMS-665351 significantly induces CYP3A4 expression in human primary hepatocytes (HPHs). Here, we report a novel nonclassical constitutive androstane receptor (CAR; NR1I3)-related pathway of BMS-665351-mediated CYP3A4 induction. BMS-665351 treatment resulted in the significant induction of CYP3A4 in HPHs and HepG2 cells, but failed to activate either PXR or CAR in cell-based reporter assays. Moreover, BMS-665351 at concentrations that induce CYP3A4 expression was unable to translocate human CAR from the cytoplasm to the nucleus of HPHs, which represents the initial step of CAR activation. Nevertheless, quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis demonstrated that BMS-665351 significantly enhanced the expression of CYP3A4 in CAR- but not PXR-transfected HepG2 and Huh7 cells. It is noteworthy that BMS-665351 selectively induced the expression of CAR but not PXR in all tested hepatic cell systems. Synergistic induction of CYP3A4 was observed in HPHs cotreated with BMS-665351 and prototypical activators of CAR but not PXR. In summary, our results indicate that BMS-665351-mediated induction of CYP3A4 is CAR-dependent, but BMS-665351 itself is not a typical activator of either CAR or PXR, rather it functions as a selective inducer of CAR expression and increases CYP3A4 through a noncanonical CAR-related mechanism.

Discovery of OSI-906: a selective and orally efficacious dual inhibitor of the IGF-1 receptor and insulin receptor

BACKGROUND

The IGF-1 receptor (IGF-1R) has been implicated in the promotion of tumorigenesis, metastasis and resistance to cancer therapies. Therefore, this receptor has become a major focus for the development of anticancer agents.

RESULTS

Our lead optimization efforts that blended structure-based design and empirical medicinal chemistry led to the discovery of OSI-906, a novel small-molecule dual IGF-1R/insulin receptor (IR) kinase inhibitor. OSI-906 potently and selectively inhibits autophosphorylation of both human IGF-1R and IR, displays in vitro antiproliferative effects in a variety of tumor cell lines and shows robust in vivo anti-tumor efficacy in an IGF-1R-driven xenograft model when administered orally once daily.

CONCLUSION

OSI-906 is a novel, potent, selective and orally bioavailable dual IGF-1R/IR kinase inhibitor with favorable preclinical drug-like properties, which has demonstrated in vivo efficacy in tumor models and is currently in clinical testing.

The insulin-like growth factor signaling pathway as a target for treatment of colorectal carcinoma

The insulin-like growth factors (IGFs), IGF1 and IGF2, are peptide hormones that bind to the insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF1R) and cause intracellular signaling that ultimately results in cellular growth and proliferation. Evidence from epidemiologic and preclinical studies suggests that IGF signaling may be of importance in the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer (CRC). In recent years, agents that target the IGF1R pathway have been developed. These agents are currently under evaluation for the treatment of CRC.

The effect of plasma protein binding on in vivo efficacy: misconceptions in drug discovery

Data from in vitro plasma protein binding experiments that determine the fraction of protein-bound drug are frequently used in drug discovery to guide structure design and to prioritize compounds for in vivo studies. However, we consider that these practices are usually misleading, because in vivo efficacy is determined by the free (unbound) drug concentration surrounding the therapeutic target, not by the free drug fraction. These practices yield no enhancement of the in vivo free drug concentration. So, decisions based on free drug fraction could result in the wrong compounds being advanced through drug discovery programmes. This Perspective provides guidance on the application of plasma protein binding information in drug discovery.

Trainable structure-activity relationship model for virtual screening of CYP3A4 inhibition

A new structure-activity relationship model predicting the probability for a compound to inhibit human cytochrome P450 3A4 has been developed using data for >800 compounds from various literature sources and tested on PubChem screening data. Novel GALAS (Global, Adjusted Locally According to Similarity) modeling methodology has been used, which is a combination of baseline global QSAR model and local similarity based corrections. GALAS modeling method allows forecasting the reliability of prediction thus defining the model applicability domain. For compounds within this domain the statistical results of the final model approach the data consistency between experimental data from literature and PubChem datasets with the overall accuracy of 89%. However, the original model is applicable only for less than a half of PubChem database. Since the similarity correction procedure of GALAS modeling method allows straightforward model training, the possibility to expand the applicability domain has been investigated. Experimental data from PubChem dataset served as an example of in-house high-throughput screening data. The model successfully adapted itself to both data classified using the same and different IC₅₀ threshold compared with the training set. In addition, adjustment of the CYP3A4 inhibition model to compounds with a novel chemical scaffold has been demonstrated. The reported GALAS model is proposed as a useful tool for virtual screening of compounds for possible drug-drug interactions even prior to the actual synthesis.

Insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) kinase inhibitors: SAR of a series of 3-[6-(4-substituted-piperazin-1-yl)-4-methyl-1H-benzimidazol-2-yl]-1H-pyridine-2-one

A series of 3-[6-(4-substituted-piperazin-1-yl)-4-methyl-1H-benzimidazol-2-yl]-1H-pyridine-2-one were synthesized to modulate CYP3A4 inhibition and improve aqueous solubility of our prototypical compound BMS-536924 (1), while maintaining potent IGF-1R inhibitory activity. Structure-activity and structure-solubility studies led to the identification of BMS-577098 (27), which demonstrates oral in vivo efficacy in animal models. The improvement was achieved by replacing morpholine with more polar bio-isoster piperazine and modulating the basicity of distal nitrogen with appropriate substitutions.

SAR of PXR transactivation in benzimidazole-based IGF-1R kinase inhibitors

The SAR of PXR transactivation by 3-(benzimidazol-2-yl)-pyridine-2-one based ATP competitive inhibitors of Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 Receptor kinase (IGF-1R) is discussed. Compounds without PXR transactivation, with in vivo antitumor activity, reduced protein binding and improved oral exposure are presented.