Discovery and Optimization of the First ATP Competitive Type-III c-MET Inhibitor

J Med Chem. 2023 Jul 13;66(13):8782-8807. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c00401. Epub 2023 Jun 21.

Abstract

Recent clinical reports have highlighted the need for wild-type (WT) and mutant dual inhibitors of c-MET kinase for the treatment of cancer. We report herein a novel chemical series of ATP competitive type-III inhibitors of WT and D1228V mutant c-MET. Using a combination of structure-based drug design and computational analyses, ligand 2 was optimized to a highly selective chemical series with nanomolar activities in biochemical and cellular settings. Representatives of the series demonstrate excellent pharmacokinetic profiles in rat in vivo studies with promising free-brain exposures, paving the way for the design of brain permeable drugs for the treatment of c-MET driven cancers.

MeSH terms

  • Adenosine Triphosphate
  • Animals
  • Antineoplastic Agents* / pharmacology
  • Drug Design
  • Neoplasms*
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors / pharmacology
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-met
  • Rats

Substances

  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-met
  • Adenosine Triphosphate
  • Antineoplastic Agents