PMID: 26230873

Authors:

Farmer L, Ledeboer MW, Hoock T, Arnost MJ, Bethiel RS, Bennani YL, Black JJ, Brummel CL, Chakilam A, Dorsch WA, Fan B, Cochran J, Halas S, Harrington EM, Hogan JK, Howe D, Huang H, Jacobs DH, Laitinen LM, Liao S, Mahajan S, Marone V, Martinez-Botella G, McCarthy P, Messersmith D, Namchuk M, Oh L, Pierce AC, Raybuck SA, Rugg A, Salituro FG, Saxena K, Shannon D, Shlyakter D, Swenson L, Tian SK, Town C, Wang J, Wang T, Wannamaker MW, Winquist RJ, Zuccola HJ

Title:

Discovery of VX-509 (Decernotinib): A Potent and Selective Janus kinase (JAK) 3 Inhibitor for the Treatment of Autoimmune Diseases.

Journal:

J Med Chem. 2015 Jul 31.

Abstract:

While several therapeutic options exist, the need for more effective, safe and convenient treatment for a variety of autoimmune diseases persists. Targeting the Janus tyrosine kinases (JAKs), which play essential roles in cell signaling responses and can contribute to aberrant immune function associated with disease, has emerged as a novel and attractive approach for the development of new autoimmune disease therapies. We screened our compound library against JAK3, a key signaling kinase in immune cells, and identified multiple scaffolds showing good inhibitory activity for this kinase. A particular scaffold of interest, the 1H-pyrrolo[2,3-b]pyridine series (7-Azaindoles), was selected for further optimization based in part on binding affinity (Ki) as well as on cellular potency. Optimization of this chemical series led to the identification of VX-509 (decernotinib), a novel, potent and selective JAK3 inhibitor, which demonstrates good efficacy in vivo in the rat host versus graft model (HvG). Based on these findings, it appears that VX-509 offers potential for the treatment of a variety of autoimmune diseases.