Eiji Kawanishi

Discovery of Canagliflozin, a Novel C-Glucoside with Thiophene Ring, as Sodium-Dependent Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitor for the Treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

We discovered that C-glucosides 4 bearing a heteroaromatic ring formed metabolically more stable inhibitors for sodium-dependent glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) than the O-glucoside, 2 (T-1095). A novel thiophene derivative 4b-3 (canagliflozin) was a highly potent and selective SGLT2 inhibitor and showed pronounced anti-hyperglycemic effects in high-fat diet fed KK (HF-KK) mice.

Phosphodiesterase 10A PET Radioligand Development Program: From Pig to Human

Four novel phosphodiesterase 10A (PDE10A) PET tracers have been synthesized, characterized in preclinical studies, and compared with the previously reported 11C-MP-10. Methods: On the basis of in vitro data, IMA102, IMA104, IMA107, and IMA106 were identified as potential PDE10A radioligand candidates and labeled with either 11C via N-methylation or with 18F through an SN2 reaction, in the case of IMA102. These candidates were compared with 11C-MP-10 in pilot in vivo studies in the pig brain. On the basis of these data, 11C-IMA106 and 11C-IMA107 were taken into further evaluation and comparison with 11C-MP-10 in the primate brain. Finally, the most promising radioligand candidate was progressed into human evaluation. Results: All 5 tracers were produced with good radiochemical yield and specific activity. All candidates readily entered the brain and demonstrated a heterogeneous distribution consistent with the known expression of PDE10A. Baseline PET studies in the pig and baboon showed that 11C-IMA107 and 11C-MP-10 displayed the most favorable tissue kinetics and imaging properties. The administration of selective PDE10A inhibitors reduced the binding of 11C-IMA107 and 11C-MP-10 in the PDE10A-rich brain regions, in a dose-dependent manner. In the nonhuman primate brain, the tissue kinetics of 11C-IMA107 and 11C-MP-10 were well described by a 2-tissue-compartment model, allowing robust estimates of the regional total volume of distribution. Blockade with unlabeled MP-10 confirmed the suitability of the cerebellum as a reference tissue and enabled the estimation of regional binding potential as the outcome measure of specific binding. Conclusion: 11C-IMA107 was identified as the ligand with the highest binding potential while still possessing reversible kinetics. The first human administration of 11C-IMA107 has demonstrated the expected regional distribution and suitably fast kinetics, indicating that 11C-IMA107 will be a useful tool for the investigation of PDE10A status in the living human brain.

N-Glucosides as human sodium-dependent glucose cotransporter 2 (hSGLT2) inhibitors.

Inhibition of renal sodium-dependent glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) increases urinary glucose excretion (UGE), and thus reduces blood glucose levels in hyperglycemia. A series of N-glucosides was synthesized for biological evaluation as human SGLT2 (hSGLT2) inhibitors. Among these compounds, N-glucoside 9d possessing an indole core structure showed good in vitro activity (IC50=7.1 nM against hSGLT2). Furthermore, 9d exhibited favorable in vivo potency with regard to UGE in rats based on good pharmacokinetic profiles.

C-Glucosides with heteroaryl thiophene as novel sodium-dependent glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors.

Canagliflozin (1), a novel inhibitor for sodium-dependent glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2), has been developed for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. To investigate the effect of replacement of the phenyl ring in 1 with heteroaromatics, C-glucosides 2 were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for their inhibitory activities against SGLT2. Of these, 3-pyridyl, 2-pyrimidyl or 5-membered heteroaryl substituted derivatives showed highly potent inhibitory activity against SGLT2, while 5-pyrimidyl substitution was associated with slightly reduced activity. In particular, 2g (TA-3404) had remarkable anti-hyperglycemic effects in high-fat diet fed KK (HF-KK) mice.

Discovery of 2-[(E)-2-(7-fluoro-3-methylquinoxalin-2-yl)vinyl]-6-pyrrolidin- 1-yl-N-(tetrahydro-2H-pyran-4-yl)pyrimidin-4-amine hydrochloride as a highly selective PDE10A inhibitor

Phosphodiesterase (PDE) 10A is a dual hydrolase of cAMP and cGMP and highly expressed in striatal medium spiny neurons. Inhibition of PDE10A modulates the activity of medium spiny neurons (MSN) via the regulation of cAMP and cGMP. Signal control of MSN is considered associated with psychotic symptoms. Therefore PDE10A inhibitor is expected as a therapeutic method for psychosis disease such as schizophrenia. Avanafil (1) is a PDE5 inhibitor (treatment for erectile dysfunction) discovered by our company. We paid attention to the homology of PDE10A and PDE5 and took advantage of PDE5 inhibitor library to discover PDE10A inhibitors, and found a series of compounds that exhibit higher potency for PDE10A than PDE5. We transformed the afforded derivatives, which had weak inhibitory activity against PDE10A, and discovered stilbene as a PDE10A inhibitor. Brain penetration of this compound was improved by further conversion of N-containing heterocycles and their substituents. The afforded dimethylaminopyrimidine was effective for rat conditioned avoidance response (CAR) test; however, it did not exhibit good brain penetration. We performed in-depth optimization focusing on substituents of the quinoxaline ring, and produced 3-methyl-7-fluoro quinoxaline. This compound was the most effective in rat CAR test due to its strong PDE10A inhibitory activity and good pharmacokinetics.