James M. Apgar

Synthesis and biological evaluation of antifungal derivatives of enfumafungin as orally bioavailable inhibitors of β-1,3-glucan synthase.

Orally bioavailable inhibitors of β-(1,3)-D-glucan synthase have been pursued as new, broad-spectrum fungicidal therapies suitable for treatment in immunocompromised patients. Toward this end, a collaborative medicinal chemistry program was established based on semisynthetic derivatization of the triterpenoid glycoside natural product enfumafungin in order to optimize in vivo antifungal activity and oral absorption properties. In the course of these studies, it was hypothesized that the pharmacokinetic properties of the semisynthetic enfumafungin analog 3 could be improved by tethering the alkyl groups proximal to the basic nitrogen of the C3-aminoether side chain into an azacyclic system, so as to preclude oxidative N-demethylation. The results of this research effort are disclosed herein.

Structure–activity-relationship of amide and sulfonamide analogs of omarigliptin

A series of novel substituted-[(3R)-amino-2-(2,5-difluorophenyl)]tetrahydro-2H-pyran analogs have been prepared and evaluated as potent, selective and orally active DPP-4 inhibitors. These efforts lead to the discovery of a long acting DPP-4 inhibitor, omarigliptin (MK-3102), which recently completed phase III clinical development and has been approved in Japan.

Novel orally active inhibitors of β-1,3-glucan synthesis derived from enfumafungin.

The clinical success of the echinocandins, which can only be administered parentally, has validated β-1,3-glucan synthase (GS) as an antifungal target. Semi-synthetic modification of enfumafungin, a triterpene glycoside natural product, was performed with the aim of producing a new class of orally active GS inhibitors. Replacement of the C2 acetoxy moiety with various heterocycles did not improve GS or antifungal potency. However, replacement of the C3 glycoside with an aminoether moiety dramatically improved oral pharmacokinetic (PK) properties while maintaining GS and antifungal potency. Installing an aminotetrazole at C2 in conjunction with an N-alkylated aminoether at C3 produced derivatives with significantly improved GS and antifungal potency that exhibited robust oral efficacy in a murine model of disseminated candidiasis.