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ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters
Conclusion: Our goal was to identify calpain inhibitors with en-
The authors declare the following competing financial interest(s):
The authors are current or former employees of AbbVie (or
Abbott Laboratories prior to separation), and may own company
stock.
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hanced stability versus carbonyl reduction. Based on the results
obtained for compound 2, we developed cytosolic clearance as in
vitro ADME assay reflecting carbonyl reduction as metabolic
liability. In addition, we confirmed that compounds with good
cytosolic stability showed significant reduction in formation of
hydroxyamide metabolites in vitro and in vivo. CytCl and hepato-
cyte M/P ratio were then used routinely as tailored in vitro ADME
assays in our screening funnel. Starting from ethyl amide 9 as
lead, we identified P1´ extension as reliable approach to address
carbonyl reduction as metabolic liability. Incorporation of differ-
ent P1´ moieties led to a robust enhancement of cytosolic stabil-
ity in our lead series, although this modification also resulted in
diminished calpain inhibition. Systematic investigation of the SAR
in P1´ revealed that the corresponding cyclopropyl and N-
methoxy amides 15 and 23 showed the best balance between
calpain potency, cathepsin selectivity and overall ADME proper-
ties. Further profiling in preclinical PK studies showed improved
PK profiles, in particular for compound 23.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We thank the global Abbott/AbbVie calpain project team, in
particular A. Boehler, J. Froggett, S. Heitz, S. Maurus, M. Mitgude,
V. Ott and C. Thiem for synthesis, C. Krack and the LU team from
NC for analytical support, S. Biesinger, S. Koller, P. Göck-Sturm, S.
Kiess, G. Sauer for screening, the LU ADME team and M.
Michmerhuizen and X. Li for metabolism studies
Design, study conduct, and financial support for this research
was provided by AbbVie. AbbVie participated in the interpreta-
tion of data, review, and approval of the publication.
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In conclusion, N-(4-(methoxyamino)-3,4-dioxo-1-phenylbutan-2-
yl)-2-(3-phenyl-1H-pyrazol-1-yl)nicotinamide 23 represents the
most favorable analogue from this series combining enhanced
metabolic stability, good potency against calpain, selectivity
versus related cysteine protease cathepsins, in particular cathep-
sins L and S, and favorable PK with good oral bioavailabilities
across pre-clinical species. The brain to plasma drug concentra-
tion of < 0.05 in rat suggests that compound 23 does not pene-
trate into the brain and is peripherally restricted. In addition, N-
methoxy amide 23 did not show cross-reactivity in the standard
receptor and enzyme panels (CEREP and MDS Enzyme Profiling
Screen, up to 10 µM concentration), or any liability in hERG, and
rat cardiovascular safety (data not shown). Based on these re-
sults, compound 23 might have potential as candidate calpain
inhibitor for non-CNS indications like kidney diseases, ische-
mia/reperfusion injury, and cataract.
ABBREVIATIONS
ABBREVIATIONS
ADME, absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion; Cal,
calpain; Cat, cathepsin; cyno, cynomolgus monkey; cytCl, cyto-
solic
dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide; Fe, estimated bioavailability;
HATU, [O-(7-azabenzotriazol-1-yl)-N,N,N′,N′-
clearance;
EDCI,
1-ethyl-3-(3-
tetramethyluroniumhexafluorphosphat]; hERG, human Ether-à-
go-go-Related Gene; HOBt, hydroxybenzotriazole; mCl, microso-
mal clearance; PK, pharmacokinetics.
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AUTHOR INFORMATION
Corresponding Author
* Phone: +49(0)621-5893449;
E-mail: andreas.kling@abbvie.com
9
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Present Addresses
¥ For Y. L.: Eli Lilly and Company; Lilly Corporate Center, Indian-
apolis IN 46285 U.S.
Notes
# A. M. and Y. L. are former AbbVie employees.
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