Chamelogk: A Chromatographic Chameleonicity Quantifier to Design Orally Bioavailable Beyond-Rule-of-5 Drugs

J Med Chem. 2023 Aug 10;66(15):10681-10693. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c00823. Epub 2023 Jul 25.

Abstract

New chemical modalities in drug discovery include molecules belonging to the bRo5 chemical space. Because of their complex and flexible structure, bRo5 compounds often suffer from a poor solubility/permeability profile. Chameleonicity describes the capacity of a molecule to adapt to the environment through conformational changes; the design of molecular chameleons is a medicinal chemistry strategy simultaneously optimizing solubility and permeability. A default method to quantify chameleonicity in early drug discovery is still missing. Here we introduce Chamelogk, an automated, fast, and cheap chromatographic descriptor of chameleonicity. Moreover, we report measurements for 55 Ro5 and bRo5 compounds and validate our method with literature data. Then, selected case studies (macrocycles, nonmacrocyclic compounds, and PROTACs) are used to illustrate the application of Chamelogk in combination with lipophilicity (BRlogD) and polarity (Δ log kwIAM) descriptors. Overall, we show how Chamelogk deserves being included in property-based drug discovery strategies to design oral bioavailable bRo5 compounds.

MeSH terms

  • Chemistry, Pharmaceutical*
  • Drug Discovery*
  • Permeability
  • Pharmaceutical Preparations
  • Solubility

Substances

  • Pharmaceutical Preparations