A practical and efficient synthesis of 6-carboalkoxy-13-cycloalkyl-5H-indolo[2,1-a][2]benzazepine-10-carboxylic acid derivatives

Discovery of Beclabuvir: A Potent Allosteric Inhibitor of the Hepatitis C Virus Polymerase

The discovery of beclabuvir occurred through an iterative series of structure-activity relationship studies directed at the optimization of a novel class of indolobenzazepines. Within this research, a strategic decision to abandon a highly potent but physiochemically problematic series in favor of one of lower molecular weight and potency was key in the realization of the program’s objectives. Subsequent cycles of analog design incorporating progressive conformational constraints successfully addressed off-target liabilities and identified compounds with improved physiochemical profiles. Ultimately, a class of alkyl-bridged piperazine carboxamides was found to be of particular interest, and from this series, beclabuvir was identified as having superior antiviral, safety, and pharmacokinetic properties. The clinical evaluation of beclabuvir in combination with both the NS5A replication complex inhibitor daclatasvir and the NS3 protease inhibitor asunaprevir in a single, fixed-dose formulation (Ximency) resulted in the approval by the Japanese Pharmaceutical and Food Safety Bureau for its use in the treatment of patients infected with genotype 1 HCV.

2015 Philip S. Portoghese Medicinal Chemistry Lectureship. Curing Hepatitis C Virus Infection with Direct-Acting Antiviral Agents: The Arc of a Medicinal Chemistry Triumph

The development of direct-acting antiviral agents that can cure a chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection after 8-12 weeks of daily, well-tolerated therapy has revolutionized the treatment of this insidious disease. In this article, three of Bristol-Myers Squibb's HCV programs are summarized, each of which produced a clinical candidate: the NS3 protease inhibitor asunaprevir (64), marketed as Sunvepra, the NS5A replication complex inhibitor daclatasvir (117), marketed as Daklinza, and the allosteric NS5B polymerase inhibitor beclabuvir (142), which is in late stage clinical studies. A clinical study with 64 and 117 established for the first time that a chronic HCV infection could be cured by treatment with direct-acting antiviral agents alone in the absence of interferon. The development of small molecule HCV therapeutics, designed by medicinal chemists, has been hailed as "the arc of a medical triumph" but may equally well be described as "the arc of a medicinal chemistry triumph".