Synthesis and biological evaluation of phenyl piperidine derivatives as CCR2 antagonists

CCR2 Antagonists for the Treatment of Diseases Associated with Inflammation

The CCR2 and MCP-1 pathway has become one of the most-studied chemokine systems for therapeutic use in inflammatory diseases and conditions. It plays a pivotal role in inflammatory diseases, especially those that are characterized by monocyte-rich infiltration. This chapter reviews the biology of CCR2 and MCP-1, and their roles in diseases and conditions related to inflammation such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, asthma, obesity, type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, nephropathy, cancer, pulmonary fibrosis and pain. Intense drug-discovery efforts over the past 15 years have generated a large number of CCR2 antagonists in diverse structural classes. Mutagenesis studies have elucidated important residues on CCR2 that interact with many classes of these CCR2 antagonists. To facilitate understanding of CCR2 antagonist SAR, a simple pharmacophore model is used to summarize the large number of diverse chemical structures. The majority of published compounds are classified based on their central core structures using this model. Key SAR points in the published literature are briefly discussed for most of the series. Lead compounds in each chemical series are highlighted where information is available. The challenges in drug discovery and development of CCR2 antagonists are briefly discussed. Clinical candidates in various diseases in the public domain are summarized with a brief discussion about the clinical challenges.

4-Azetidinyl-1-heteroatom linked cyclohexane antagonists of CCR2: patent evaluation

This application discloses a series of di- and tri-substituted cyclohexanes as CCR2 receptor antagonists which are stated to be useful in treating inflammation and autoimmune diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and asthma. Although receptor binding of the compounds to CCR2 is demonstrated, there are no data to support the idea that these molecules are functional antagonists.

Discovery of INCB3344, a potent, selective and orally bioavailable antagonist of human and murine CCR2

Rational design based on a pharmacophore of CCR2 antagonists reported in the literature identified lead compound 9a with potent inhibitory activity against human CCR2 (hCCR2) but moderate activity against murine CCR2 (mCCR2). Modification on 9a led to the discovery of a potent CCR2 antagonist 21 (INCB3344) with IC(50) values of 5.1 nM (hCCR2) and 9.5 nM (mCCR2) in binding antagonism and 3.8 nM (hCCR2) and 7.8 nM (mCCR2) in antagonism of chemotaxis activity. INCB3344 exhibited >100-fold selectivity over other homologous chemokine receptors, a free fraction of 24% in human serum and 15% in mouse serum, and an oral bioavailability of 47% in mice, suitable as a tool compound for target validation in rodent models.