Discovery of Dosimertinib, a Highly Potent, Selective, and Orally Efficacious Deuterated EGFR Targeting Clinical Candidate for the Treatment of Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of 2-phenylaminopyrimidine derivatives as EGFR inhibitors

In the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), acquired drug resistance is a major factor that affects the efficacy of third-generation epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitors like Osimertinib. To overcome the L858R/T790M/C797S mutation, taking the Brigatinib as the positive control, two classes of 20 target compounds were designed and synthesized with 2-phenylaminopyrimidine as the core structure on the basis of summarizing the structure-activity relationship (SAR), following the basic principles of drug design. Representative compound I-10 potently inhibited EGFRL858R/T790M/C797S with an IC50 value of 33.26 nM and suppressed Ba/F3-EGFRL858R/T790M/C797S cells with an IC50 value of 106.4 nM, which is 5-fold more potent than Brigatinib. Besides, the compound exhibited an inhibition rate of less than 50 % against wild-type cell (NCI-H838), which reflected its toxicity or selectivity. Furthermore, this work serves as a foundation for future studies on EGFR inhibitors.

Precision Deuteration in Search of Anticancer Agents: Approaches to Cancer Drug Discovery

Cancer chemotherapy has been shifted from conventional cytotoxic drug therapy to selective and target-specific therapy after the findings about DNA changes and proteins that are responsible for cancer. A large number of newer drugs were discovered as targeted therapy for particular types of neoplastic disease. The initial discovery includes the development of the first in the category, imatinib, a Bcr-Abl tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) for the treatment of chronic myelocytic leukemia in 2001. But the joy did not last for long as the drug developed a point mutation within the ABL1 kinase domain of BCR-ABL1, which subsequently led to the discovery of many other TKIs. Resistance was observed for newer TKIs a few years after their launching, but the use of TKIs in life-threatening cancer therapy is considered as far better compared with the risks of disease because of its target specificity and hence less toxicity. In search of a better anticancer agent, the physiochemical properties of the lead molecule have been modified for its efficacy toward disease and delay in the development of resistance. Deuteration in the drug molecule is one of such modifications that alter the pharmacokinetic properties, generally its metabolism, as compared with its pharmacodynamic effects. Precision deuteration in many anticancer drugs has been carried out to search for better drugs for cancer. In this review, the majority of anticancer drugs and molecules for which deuteration was applied to get better anticancer molecules were discussed. This review will provide a complete guide about the benefits of deuteration in cancer chemotherapy.

Rhodium-catalyzed annulation of hydrazines with vinylene carbonate to synthesize unsubstituted 1-aminoindole derivatives

Herein, we describe rhodium-catalysed C-H bond activation for [3 + 2] annulation using hydrazide and vinylene carbonate, providing an efficient method for synthesising unsubstituted 1-aminoindole compounds. Characterised by high yields, mild reaction conditions, and no need for external oxidants, this transformation demonstrates excellent regioselectivity and a wide tolerance for various functional groups.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of structurally new 4-indolyl quinazoline derivatives as highly potent, selective and orally bioavailable EGFR inhibitors

Targeting the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) has been recognized as an effective strategy for treating non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Although several representative EGFR inhibitors have been approved for clinical use, it is highly desirable to develop highly potent and selective EGFR inhibitors with novel scaffolds because of the occurrence of acquired resistance after treatment. Here we first demonstrate that the 4-indolyl quinazoline derivatives could potently inhibit EGFR in vitro and in vivo, of which YS-67 effectively and selectively inhibits EGFR[WT] (IC50 = 5.2 nM), EGFR[d746-750] (IC50 = 9.6 nM) and EGFR[L858R] (IC50 = 1.9 nM). The TREEspot™ kinase interaction map further reveals the binding selectivity toward 468 kinases. YS-67 not only potently suppresses p-EGFR and p-AKT, but also effectively inhibits proliferation of A549 (IC50 = 4.1 μM), PC-9 (IC50 = 0.5 μM) and A431 cells (IC50 = 2.1 μM). YS-67 treatment also causes colony formation inhibition, arrests cell cycle progression at G0/G1 phases and induces apoptosis. More importantly, YS-67 is well tolerated in A431 xenograft model after oral administration, showing effective tumor growth suppression and low toxicity. Collectively, YS-67 represents an underexplored scaffold for developing new EGFR inhibitors.

A comprehensive review of discovery and development of drugs discovered from 2020-2022

To fully evaluate and define the new drug molecule for its pharmacological characteristics and toxicity profile, pre-clinical and clinical studies are conducted as part of the drug research and development process. The average time required for all drug development processes to finish various regulatory evaluations ranges from 11.4 to 13.5 years, and the expense of drug development is rising quickly. The development in the discovery of newer novel treatments is, however, largely due to the growing need for new medications. Methods to identify Hits and discovery of lead compounds along with pre-clinical studies have advanced, and one example is the introduction of computer-aided drug design (CADD), which has greatly shortened the time needed for the drug to go through the drug discovery phases. The pharmaceutical industry will hopefully be able to address the present and future issues and will continue to produce novel molecular entities (NMEs) to satisfy the expanding unmet medical requirements of the patients as the success rate of the drug development processes is increasing. Several heterocyclic moieties have been developed and tested against many targets and proved to be very effective. In-depth discussion of the drug design approaches of newly found drugs from 2020 to 2022, including their pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles and in-vitro and in-vivo assessments, is the main goal of this review. Considering the many stages these drugs are going through in their clinical trials, this investigation is especially pertinent. It should be noted that synthetic strategies are not discussed in this review; instead, they will be in a future publication.

Targeted Strategies for Degradation of Key Transmembrane Proteins in Cancer

Targeted protein degradation is an attractive technology for cancer treatment due to its ability to overcome the unpredictability of the small molecule inhibitors that cause resistance mutations. In recent years, various targeted protein degradation strategies have been developed based on the ubiquitin-proteasome system in the cytoplasm or the autophagy-lysosomal system during endocytosis. In this review, we describe and compare technologies for the targeted inhibition and targeted degradation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), one of the major proteins responsible for the onset and progression of many types of cancer. In addition, we develop an alternative strategy, called alloAUTO, based on the binding of new heterocyclic compounds to an allosteric site located in close proximity to the EGFR catalytic site. These compounds cause the targeted degradation of the transmembrane receptor, simultaneously activating both systems of protein degradation in cells. Damage to the EGFR signaling pathways promotes the inactivation of Bim sensor protein phosphorylation, which leads to the disintegration of the cytoskeleton, followed by the detachment of cancer cells from the extracellular matrix, and, ultimately, to cancer cell death. This hallmark of targeted cancer cell death suggests an advantage over other targeted protein degradation strategies, namely, the fewer cancer cells that survive mean fewer chemotherapy-resistant mutants appear.

In Vitro and In Silico Evaluation of Antiproliferative Activity of New Isoxazolidine Derivatives Targeting EGFR: Design, Synthesis, Cell Cycle Analysis, and Apoptotic Inducers

A series of novel enantiopure isoxazolidine derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for their anticancer activities against three human cancer cell lines such as human breast carcinoma (MCF-7), human lung adenocarcinoma (A-549), and human ovarian carcinoma (SKOV3) by employing MTT assay. The synthesized compounds were characterized by NMR and elemental analysis. Results revealed that all the synthesized compounds displayed significant inhibition towards the tested cell lines. Among them, 2g and 2f, which differ only by the presence of an ester group at the C-3 position and small EDG (methyl) at the C-5 position of the phenyl ring (2g), were the most active derivatives in attenuating the growth of the three cells in a dose-dependent manner. The IC₅₀ for 2g were 17.7 ± 1 µM (MCF-7), 12.1 ± 1.1 µM (A-549), and 13.9 ± 0.7 µM (SKOV3), and for 2f were 9.7 ± 1.3µM (MCF-7), 9.7 ± 0.7µM (A-549), and 6.5 ± 0.9µM (SKOV3), respectively, which were comparable to the standard drug, doxorubicin. The enzymatic inhibition of 2f and 2g against EGFR afforded good inhibitory activity with IC₅₀ of 0.298 ± 0.007 μM and 0.484 ± 0.01 µM, respectively, close to the positive control, Afatinib. Compound 2f arrested the cell cycle in the S phase in MCF-7 and SKOV3 cells, and in the G2/M phase in the A549 cell; however, 2g induced G0/G1 phase cell cycle arrest, and inhibited the progression of the three cancer cells, together with significant apoptotic effects. The docking study of compounds 2f and 2g into EGFR ATP-active site revealed that it fits nicely with good binding affinity. The pharmacokinetic and drug-likeness scores revealed notable lead-like properties. At 100 ns, the dynamic simulation investigation revealed high conformational stability in the EGFR binding cavity.

Deuterium in drug discovery: progress, opportunities and challenges

Substitution of a hydrogen atom with its heavy isotope deuterium entails the addition of one neutron to a molecule. Despite being a subtle change, this structural modification, known as deuteration, may improve the pharmacokinetic and/or toxicity profile of drugs, potentially translating into improvements in efficacy and safety compared with the non-deuterated counterparts. Initially, efforts to exploit this potential primarily led to the development of deuterated analogues of marketed drugs through a 'deuterium switch' approach, such as deutetrabenazine, which became the first deuterated drug to receive FDA approval in 2017. In the past few years, the focus has shifted to applying deuteration in novel drug discovery, and the FDA approved the pioneering de novo deuterated drug deucravacitinib in 2022. In this Review, we highlight key milestones in the field of deuteration in drug discovery and development, emphasizing recent and instructive medicinal chemistry programmes and discussing the opportunities and hurdles for drug developers, as well as the questions that remain to be addressed.

An Analysis of Successful Hit-to-Clinical Candidate Pairs

An analysis of 156 published clinical candidates from the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry between 2018 and 2021 was conducted to identify lead generation strategies most frequently employed leading to drug candidates. As in a previous publication, the most frequent lead generation strategies resulting in clinical candidates were from known compounds (59%) followed by random screening approaches (21%). The remainder of the approaches included directed screening, fragment screening, DNA-encoded library screening (DEL), and virtual screening. An analysis of similarity was also conducted based on Tanimoto-MCS and revealed most clinical candidates were distant from their original hits; however, most shared a key pharmacophore that translated from hit-to-clinical candidate. An examination of frequency of oxygen, nitrogen, fluorine, chlorine, and sulfur incorporation in clinical candidates was also conducted. The three most similar and least similar hit-to-clinical pairs from random screening were examined to provide perspective on changes that occur that lead to successful clinical candidates.

Deuterated driven new chemical entities: An optimistic way to improve therapeutic efficacy

In organic chemistry, the use of deuterium exchange as a tool to study the mechanism of chemical reaction has been well explored. Since two decades, the research focus on deuterated bioactive molecules has been gaining attention for investigating the therapeutic potential of deuterium replacement in a chemical structure. Recently, Food Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first deuterium-labeled drug "deutetrabenazine", and notified the deuterated drugs as new chemical entities (NCEs). Henceforth, the deuterium substitution driven structure activity relationship, preclinical pharmacokinetics, and toxicity studies were much initiated. Deuteration of a bioactive molecule often results in improved therapeutic efficacy due to the altered pharmacokinetic profile. This review provides a conceptual framework on the importance of deuterium atom in chemical structure of a drug, and its biological value in improved physiochemical properties, pharmacokinetics, biological target interaction, diagnosis, and toxicity. In addition, this review concisely updated the recent deuteration methods, chemical stability, challenges in drug development, deuterium-based imaging in diagnosis, and selected synthetic scheme of deuterated molecules.

Discovery of Potent and Wild-Type-Sparing Fourth-Generation EGFR Inhibitors for Treatment of Osimertinib-Resistance NSCLC

Osimertinib resistance is an unmet clinical need for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and the main mechanism is tertiary C797S mutation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). To date, there is no inhibitor approved for the treatment of Osimertinib-resistant NSCLC. Herein, we reported a series of Osimertinib derivatives as fourth-generation inhibitors which were rationally designed. Top candidate D51 potently inhibited the EGFR^{L858R/T790M/C797S} mutant with an IC₅₀ value of 14 nM and suppressed the proliferation of H1975-TM cells with an IC₅₀ value of 14 nM, which show over 500-fold selectivity against wild-type forms. Moreover, D51 inhibited the EGFR^{del19/T790M/C797S} mutant and the proliferation of the PC9-TM cell line with IC₅₀ values of 62 and 82 nM. D51 also exhibited favorable in vivo druggability, including PK parameters, safety properties, in vivo stability, and antitumor activity.

Epigenetic compounds targeting pharmacological target lysine specific demethylase 1 and its impact on immunotherapy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy for treatment of tumor recurrence and resistance

It has been proven that metastatic recurrence and therapeutic resistance are linked. Due to the variability of individuals and tumors, as well as the tumor's versatility in avoiding therapies, therapy resistance is more difficult to treat. Therapy resistance has significantly restricted the clinical feasibility and efficacy of tumor therapy, despite the discovery of novel compounds and therapy combinations with increasing efficacy. In several tumors, lysine specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) has been associated to metastatic recurrence and therapeutic resistance. For researchers to better comprehend how LSD1-mediated tumor therapy resistance occurs and how to overcome it in various tumors, this study focused on the role of LSD1 in tumor recurrence and therapeutic resistance. The importance of therapeutically targeted LSD1 was also discussed. Most gene pathway signatures are related to LSD1 inhibitor sensitivity. However, some gene pathway signatures, especially in AML, negatively correlate with LSD1 inhibitor sensitivity, but targeting LSD1 makes the therapy-resistant tumor sensitive to physiological doses of conventional therapy. We propose that combining LSD1 inhibitor with traditional tumor therapy can help patients attain a complete response and prevent cancer relapse.

Recent Updates on the Development of Deuterium-Containing Drugs for the Treatment of Cancer

Cancer is one of the deadliest diseases in the world. In 2020, 19.3 million cancer cases and 10 million deaths were reported in the world. It is supposed that the prevalence of cancer cases will rise to 28.4 million by 2040. Chemotherapy-based regimens have a narrow therapeutic index, severe adverse drug reactions, and lack metabolic stability. Besides, the metabolism of anticancer produces several non-active and toxic metabolites that reduce exposure of the target site to the parent drug. Therefore, developing better-tolerated and effective new anticancer drugs and modification of the existing anticancer drugs to minimize toxicity and increase efficacy has become a very urgent need. Deuterium incorporation reduces the metabolism of certain drugs that are breakdown by pathways involving hydrogen-carbon bond scission. For example, CYP450 mediated oxidative metabolism of drugs that involves the breakdown of a hydrogen-carbon bond affected by deuteration. Deuterium incorporation into the drug increases the half-life and reduces the dose, which provides better safety and efficacy. Deutetrabenazine is the first deuterated form of tetrabenazine approved to treat chorea associated with Huntington’s disease and tardive dyskinesia. The study revealed that Deutetrabenazine has fewer neuropsychiatric side effects with favorable safety than tetrabenazine. The current review highlights the deuterium kinetic isotope effect on drug metabolism, deuterated compound pharmacokinetic property, and safety profile. Besides, this review explains the deuterated anticancer drug development update status.

1,2,3-Triazole Tethered Hybrid Capsaicinoids as Antiproliferative Agents Active against Lung Cancer Cells (A549)

A series of novel 1,2,3-triazole derivatives of capsaicin and its structural isomer (new natural product hybrid capsaicinoid) were synthesized by exploiting one-/two-point modification of capsaicin without altering the amide linkage (neck). The newly synthesized compounds were screened for their antiproliferative activity against an NCI panel of 60 cancer cell lines at a single dose of 10 μM. Most of the compounds have demonstrated reduced growth between 55 and 95%, whereas capsaicin (10) has shown reduced growth between 0 and 24%. Compounds showing more than 50% growth inhibition were further evaluated for the IC50 value. Among the cell lines tested, lung cancer cell lines (A549, NCI-H460) were found to be more susceptible toward most of the synthesized compounds. Compounds 14g and 14j demonstrated good antiproliferative activity in NCI-H460 with IC50 values of 6.65 and 5.55 μM, respectively, while compounds 18b, 18c, 18f, and 18m demonstrated potential antiproliferative activity in A549 cell lines with IC50 values ranging between 2.9 and 10.5 μM. Among the compounds, compound 18f was found to demonstrate the best activity with an IC50 value of 2.91 μM against A549. Furthermore, 18f induces cell cycle arrest at the S-phase and disrupts the mitochondrial membrane potential, reducing cell migration potential by inducing cellular apoptosis and higher ROS generation along with a decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential in addition to surface and nuclear morphological alterations such as a reduction in the number and shrinkage of cells coupled with nuclear blabbing indicating the sign of apoptosis of A549 non-small cell lung cancer cell lines. Compound 18f has emerged as a lead molecule and may serve as a template for further discovery of capsaicinoid scaffolds.

Design and Synthesis of New Hydantoin Acetanilide Derivatives as Anti-NSCLC Targeting EGFRL858R/T790M Mutations

Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR), its wild type and mutations L858R/T790M, is overexpressed in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and is considered an inevitable oncology target. However, while the potential EGFR inhibitors have been represented in the literature, their cellular activity failed to establish broad potency against EGFR and its mutations. This study identifies a new series of EGFRL858R/T790M inhibitors bearing hydantoin acetanilides. Most compounds revealed strong antiproliferative activity in a range of NSCL cancer models (A549, H1975, and PC9), in which 5a and 5f were the most potent. Compounds 5a and 5f possessed potent anticancer activity on H1975 cells with IC50 values of 1.94 and 1.38 µM, respectively, compared to 9.70 µM for erlotinib. Favorably, 5a and 5f showed low activity on WI-38 normal cells. Western blotting and an EGFR kinase assay test proved the significant EGFR inhibitory activity of 5a. Besides, active hydantoin derivative 5a strongly arrested the cell cycle at the sub G1 and S phases and triggered apoptosis in A549 cells. These results imply that 5a could be considered a promising lead compound for additional development as a potential active agent for anticancer therapy.

Novel deuterated Mnk1/2 protein degrader VNLG-152R analogs: Synthesis, In vitro Anti-TNBC activities and pharmacokinetics in mice

A new and improved synthesis of lead Mnk1/2 protein degrader, VNLG-152R, 4-(±)-(1H-imidazole-1-yl)-N-(4-fluorophenyl)-(E)-retinamide (1) has been developed from commercially available 4-oxo-ATRA (8). This procedure was also utilized to synthesize the seven possible deuterated analogs of compound 1 (11-17). The deuterated analogs were either better or equipotent to 1 in in vitro antiproliferative activities against MDA-MB-231 and MDA-MB-468 human TNBC cells. The Mnk1/2 degraders were equally effective as a standard TNBC therapy (paclitaxel). Importantly, the expression of Mnk1, peIF4E and their associated downstream targets, including cyclin D1 and Bcl2, were strongly decreased in compound 1/analogs (11-17)-treated TNBC cells signifying inhibition of Mnk1-eIF4E signaling. More importantly, we showed that deuterated analogs, 12, 16 and 17 possess improved pharmacokinetics parameters following oral administration to CD-1 female mice compared to the parent non-deuterated compound 1, thus addressing the rapid clearance (short half-life and short residence time) pharmacokinetic inadequacy of compound 1.

Generation of formaldehyde and formaldehyde-d2 for hydroxymethylations and hydroxydeuteromethylations of difluoroenolates and difluorobenzyl carbanions

A method for the in situ production of formaldehyde from dimethylsulfoxide, bromine, and cesium carbonate is reported for reactions with difluoroenolates and difluorobenzyl carbanions. This process also generates formaldehyde-d₂ for the production of 2,2-difluoro-1,1-deuteroethanols. Mechanistic and computational studies further characterize the production of hydroxymethylated and hydroxydeuteromethylated difluorinated organic molecules.

Next-Generation Kinase Inhibitors Targeting Specific Biomarkers in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC): A Recent Overview

Lung cancer causes many deaths globally. Mutations in regulatory genes, irregularities in specific signal transduction events, or alterations of signalling pathways are observed in cases of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Over the past two decades, a few kinases have been identified, validated, and studied as biomarkers for NSCLC. Among them, EGFR, ALK, ROS1, MET, RET, NTRK, and BRAF are regarded as targetable biomarkers to cure and/or control the disease. In recent years, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved more than 15 kinase inhibitors targeting these NSCLC biomarkers. The kinase inhibitors significantly improved the progression-free survival (PFS) of NSCLC patients. Challenges still remain for metastatic diseases and advanced NSCLC cases. New discoveries of potent kinase inhibitors and rapid development of modern medical technologies will help to control NSCLC cases. This article provides an overview of the discoveries of various types of kinase inhibitors against NSCLC, along with medicinal chemistry aspects and related developments in next-generation kinase inhibitors that have been reported in recent years.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of novel benzofuran derivatives as potent LSD1 inhibitors

Lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1) is a FAD-dependent enzyme, which has been proposed as a promising target for therapeutic cancer. Herein, a series of benzofuran derivatives were designed, synthesized and biochemical evaluated as novel LSD1 inhibitors based on scaffold hopping and conformational restriction strategy. Most of the compounds potently suppressed the enzymatic activities of LSD1 and potently inhibited tumor cells proliferation. In particular, the representative compound 17i exhibited excellent LSD1 inhibition at the molecular levels with IC₅₀ = 0.065 μM, as well as anti-proliferation against MCF-7, MGC-803, H460, A549 and THP-1 tumor cells with IC₅₀ values of 2.90 ± 0.32, 5.85 ± 0.35, 2.06 ± 0.27, 5.74 ± 1.03 and 6.15 ± 0.49 μM, respectively. The binding modes of these compounds were rationalized by molecular docking. Meanwhile, a preliminary druggability evaluation showed that compound 17i displayed favorable liver microsomal stability and weak inhibitory activity against CYPs at 10 μM. Remarkably, H460 xenograft tumors studies revealed that 17i demonstrated robust in vivo antitumor efficacy without significant side effects. All the results demonstrated that compound 17i could represent a promising lead for further development.

What's in a Name? Drug Nomenclature and Medicinal Chemistry Trends using INN Publications

The World Health Organization assigns international nonproprietary names (INN), also known as common names, to compounds upon request from drug developers. Structures of INNs are publicly available and represent a source, albeit underused, to understand trends in drug research and development. Here, we explain how a common drug name is composed and analyze chemical entities from 2000 to 2021. In the analysis, we describe some changes that intertwine chemical structure, newer therapeutic targets (e.g., kinases), including a significant increase in the use of fluorine and of heterocycles, and some other evolutionary modifications, such as the progressive increase in molecular weight. Alongside these, small signs of change can be spotted, such as the rise in spirocyclic scaffolds and small rings and the emergence of unconventional structural moieties that might forecast the future to come.

Annual review of LSD1/KDM1A inhibitors in 2020

Lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1/KDM1A) has emerged as a promising target for the discovery of specific inhibitors as antitumor drugs. Based on the source of compounds, all LSD1 inhibitors in this review are divided into two categories: natural LSD1 inhibitors and synthetic LSD1 inhibitors. This review highlights the research progress of LSD1 inhibitors with the potential to treat cancer covering articles published in 2020. Design strategies, structure-activity relationships, co-crystal structure analysis and action mechanisms are also highlighted.

Iodine-catalyzed thioallylation of indoles using Bunte salts prepared from Baylis-Hillman bromides

Metal-free iodine-catalyzed regioselective thioallylation of indoles has been accomplished at room temperature using Bunte salts prepared from Baylis-Hillman bromides. The resulting multi-functional C3 thioallylated indoles exhibit ample structural diversity and good functional group tolerance.