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Baugh SDP, Chaly A, Weaver DG, Whitman DB, Pelletier JC, Bian H, Freeman KB, Reitz AB, Scott RW. Amide- and bis-amide-linked highly potent and broadly active antifungal agents for the treatment of invasive fungal infections- towards the discovery of pre-clinical development candidate FC12406. Med Chem Res 2023:1-17. [PMID: 37362318 PMCID: PMC10227796 DOI: 10.1007/s00044-023-03083-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 05/13/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023]
Abstract
Most fungal infections are common, localized to skin or mucosal surfaces and can be treated effectively with topical antifungal agents. However, while invasive fungal infections (IFIs) are uncommon, they are very difficult to control medically, and are associated with high mortality rates. We have previously described highly potent bis-guanidine-containing heteroaryl-linked antifungal agents, and were interested in expanding the range of agents to novel series so as to reduce the degree of aromaticity (with a view to making the compounds more drug-like), and provide broadly active high potency derivatives. We have investigated the replacement of the central aryl ring from our original series by both amide and a bis-amide moieties, and have found particular structure-activity relationships (SAR) for both series', resulting in highly active antifungal agents against both mold and yeast pathogens. In particular, we describe the in vitro antifungal activity, absorption, distribution, metabolism and elimination (ADME) properties, and off-target properties of FC12406 (34), which was selected as a pre-clinical development candidate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon D. P. Baugh
- Fox Chase Therapeutics Discovery, Inc., 3805 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA 18902 USA
| | - Anna Chaly
- Fox Chase Therapeutics Discovery, Inc., 3805 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA 18902 USA
| | - Damian G. Weaver
- Fox Chase Therapeutics Discovery, Inc., 3805 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA 18902 USA
| | - David B. Whitman
- Fox Chase Therapeutics Discovery, Inc., 3805 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA 18902 USA
| | - Jeffrey C. Pelletier
- Fox Chase Therapeutics Discovery, Inc., 3805 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA 18902 USA
| | - Haiyan Bian
- Fox Chase Therapeutics Discovery, Inc., 3805 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA 18902 USA
| | - Katie B. Freeman
- Fox Chase Therapeutics Discovery, Inc., 3805 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA 18902 USA
| | - Allen B. Reitz
- Fox Chase Therapeutics Discovery, Inc., 3805 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA 18902 USA
| | - Richard W. Scott
- Fox Chase Therapeutics Discovery, Inc., 3805 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA 18902 USA
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Guanidine-Containing Antifungal Agents against Human-Relevant Fungal Pathogens (2004-2022)-A Review. J Fungi (Basel) 2022; 8:jof8101085. [PMID: 36294650 PMCID: PMC9605545 DOI: 10.3390/jof8101085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2022] [Revised: 10/10/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
The guanidine moiety is typically a highly basic group, and can be found in a wide variety of drugs, such as zanamivir (Relenza) and metformin (Fortamet), as well as in biologically active compounds for numerous disease areas, including central nervous system (CNS) diseases and chemotherapeutics. This review will focus on antifungal agents which contain at least one guanidine group, for the treatment of human-related fungal pathogens, described in the literature between 2004 and 2022. These compounds include small molecules, steroids, polymers, metal complexes, sesquiterpenes, natural products, and polypeptides. It shall be made clear that a diverse range of guanidine-containing derivatives have been published in the literature and have antifungal activity, including efficacy in in vivo experiments.
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Baugh SDP, Chaly A, Weaver DG, Pelletier JC, Thanna S, Freeman KB, Reitz AB, Scott RW. Highly potent, broadly active antifungal agents for the treatment of invasive fungal infections. Bioorg Med Chem Lett 2020; 33:127727. [PMID: 33316410 DOI: 10.1016/j.bmcl.2020.127727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2020] [Revised: 11/24/2020] [Accepted: 11/29/2020] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Invasive fungal infections have become an important healthcare issue due in large part to high mortality rates under standard of care (SOC) therapies creating an urgent need for new and effective anti-fungal agents. We have developed a series of non-peptide, structurally-constrained analogs of host defence proteins that have distinct advantages over peptides for pharmaceutical uses. Here we report the chemical optimization of bis-guanidine analogs focused on alterations of the central aryl core and the connection of it to the terminal guanidines. This effort resulted in the production of highly potent, broadly active compounds with low mammalian cell cytotoxicity that have comparable or improved antifungal activities over SOC agents. One optimal compound was also found to possess favourable in vitro pharmaceutical and off-target properties suitable for further development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon D P Baugh
- Fox Chase Chemical Diversity Center, Inc., 3805 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA 18902, USA.
| | - Anna Chaly
- Fox Chase Chemical Diversity Center, Inc., 3805 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA 18902, USA
| | - Damian G Weaver
- Fox Chase Chemical Diversity Center, Inc., 3805 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA 18902, USA
| | - Jeffrey C Pelletier
- Fox Chase Chemical Diversity Center, Inc., 3805 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA 18902, USA
| | - Sandeep Thanna
- Fox Chase Chemical Diversity Center, Inc., 3805 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA 18902, USA
| | - Katie B Freeman
- Fox Chase Chemical Diversity Center, Inc., 3805 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA 18902, USA
| | - Allen B Reitz
- Fox Chase Chemical Diversity Center, Inc., 3805 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA 18902, USA
| | - Richard W Scott
- Fox Chase Chemical Diversity Center, Inc., 3805 Old Easton Road, Doylestown, PA 18902, USA.
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