Keizo Sugasawa

AKR-501 (YM477) a novel orally-active thrombopoietin receptor agonist.

Thrombopoietin (TPO) is the principal physiologic regulator of platelet production. We have searched for small molecule compounds that mimic the action of TPO by using human TPO receptor‐expressed in Ba/F3 cells, resulting in the discovery of AKR‐501 (YM477). AKR‐501 specifically targeted the TPO receptor and stimulated megakaryocytopoiesis throughout the development and maturation of megakaryocytes just as rhTPO did. AKR‐501, however, was shown to be effective only in humans and chimpanzees with high species specificity. Therefore, we examined the in vivo platelet‐increasing effect of AKR‐501 in human platelet producing non‐obese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficiency (NOD/SCID) mice transplanted with human fetal liver CD34+ cells. Daily oral administration of AKR‐501 dose‐dependently increased the number of human platelets in these mice, with significance achieved at doses of 1 mg/kg and above. The peak unbound plasma concentrations of AKR‐501 after administration at 1 mg/kg in NOD/SCID mice were similar to those observed following administration of an active oral dose in human subjects. These results suggest that AKR‐501 is an orally‐active TPO receptor agonist that may be useful in the treatment of patients with thrombocytopenia.

AKR-501 (YM477) in combination with thrombopoietin enhances human megakaryocytopoiesis

OBJECTIVE AKR-501 (YM477) is an orally active thrombopoietin (TPO) receptor agonist that mimics the biological effect of TPO in vitro and in vivo. Here, we report that AKR-501 in combination with TPO has additive effect on megakaryocytopoiesis. MATERIALS AND METHODS Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor-mobilized human peripheral blood CD34+ cells were cultured with AKR-501, TPO, or a combination of the two in serum-free liquid culture system. The numbers of hematopoietic progenitor cells, megakaryocytic progenitor cells, and megakaryocytes were measured using flow cytometry. Further, the effect of AKR-501 on TPO binding to TPO receptor was examined. RESULTS Both AKR-501 and TPO alone increased the number of megakaryocytes, and the maximum activities of AKR-501 and TPO were similar. Interestingly, in the presence of TPO concentrations producing maximal stimulation, the addition of AKR-501 increased the number of megakaryocytes to about 200% of that generated with TPO only. In the time course experiment, the combination of AKR-501 and TPO augmented the numbers of hematopoietic progenitor cells and colony-forming unit in culture in the early stages. Thus, the combination of AKR-501 and TPO enhanced not only the differentiation into megakaryocytes, but also the expansion of human hematopoietic progenitor cells. Further, AKR-501 did not inhibit TPO binding to the TPO receptor. This result indicated the possibility that AKR-501 and TPO may act simultaneously on the TPO receptor, and this could be responsible for their additive effect of on megakaryocytopoiesis. CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that AKR-501 would be useful for the treatment of thrombocytopenia even at high plasma levels of endogenous TPO following chemotherapy.

Discovery of N-[2-Hydroxy-6-(4-methoxybenzamido)phenyl]-4- (4-methyl-1,4-diazepan-1-yl)benzamide (Darexaban, YM150) as a Potent and Orally Available Factor Xa Inhibitor

Inhibitors of factor Xa (FXa), a crucial serine protease in the coagulation cascade, have attracted a great deal of attention as a target for developing antithrombotic agents. We previously reported findings from our optimization study of a high-throughput screening (HTS) derived lead compound 1a that resulted in the discovery of potent amidine-containing FXa inhibitors represented by compound 2. We also conducted an alternative optimization study of 1a without incorporating a strong basic amidine group, which generally has an adverse effect on the pharmacokinetic profile after oral administration. Replacement of 4-methoxybenzene with a 1,4-benzodiazepine structure and introduction of a hydroxy group at the central benzene led to the discovery of the potent and orally effective factor Xa inhibitor 14i (darexaban, YM150). Subsequent extensive study revealed a unique aspect to the pharmacokinetic profile of this compound, wherein the hydroxy moiety of 14i is rapidly transformed into its glucuronide conjugate 16 (YM-222714) as an active metabolite after oral administration and it plays a major role in expression of potent anticoagulant activity in plasma. The distinctive, potent activity of inhibitor 14i after oral dosing was explained by this unique pharmacokinetic profile and its favorable membrane permeability. Compound 14i is currently undergoing clinical development for prevention and treatment of thromboembolic diseases.

Design and synthesis of (+)-discodermolide-paclitaxel hybrids leading to enhanced biological activity.

Potential binding modes of (+)-discodermolide at the paclitaxel binding site of tubulin have been identified by computational studies based on earlier structural and SAR data. Examination of the prospective binding modes reveal that the aromatic pocket occupied by the paclitaxel side chain is unoccupied by (+)-discodermolide. Based on these findings, a small library of (+)-discodermolide-paclitaxel hybrids have been designed and synthesized. Biological evaluation reveals a two- to eight-fold increase in antiproliferative activity compared to the parent molecule using the A549 and MCF-7 cancer cell lines.

Pharmacological profile of AS1670542, a novel orally-active human thrombopoietin receptor agonist.

Eltrombopag, an orally-active small molecule thrombopoietin (TPO) receptor agonist, was used for the first time in 2008 to treat patients with chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. Here, we investigated the pharmacological effect of a new orally-active small molecule TPO receptor agonist which may be effective in treating these patients. 50% effective concentration values for cell proliferation with AS1670542 or eltrombopag were 1.9 and 13nM, respectively, while those for megakaryocyte colony formation from human cord blood CD34(+) cells with AS1670542 or eltrombopag were 260 and 950nM, respectively. On Day 14 after the start of administration, AS1670542 significantly increased the number of human platelets in non-obese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficiency (NOD/SCID) mice with transplanted human hematopoietic stem cells at 0.3 (P<0.05); in contrast, while administration of eltrombopag also increased the numbers of these platelets at 30mg/kg/day (P=0.058), no statistical significance was noted in the increase. Here, we identified AS1670542, a novel orally-active TPO receptor agonist which mimics the biological activity of TPO and may demonstrate greater in vitro and in vivo pharmacologically efficacy than eltrombopag.

Novel strategy to boost oral anticoagulant activity of blood coagulation enzyme inhibitors based on biotransformation into hydrophilic conjugates.

The blood coagulation cascade represents an attractive target for antithrombotic drug development, and recent studies have attempted to identify oral anticoagulants with inhibitory activity for enzymes in this cascade, with particular attention focused on thrombin and factor Xa (fXa) as typical targets. We previously described the discovery of the orally active fXa inhibitor darexaban (1) and reported a unique profile that compound 1 rapidly transformed into glucuronide YM-222714 (2) after oral administration. Here, we propose a novel strategy towards the discovery of an orally active anticoagulant that is based on the bioconversion of a non-amidine inhibitor into the corresponding conjugate to boost ex vivo anticoagulant activity via an increase in hydrophilicity. Computational molecular modeling was utilized to select a template scaffold and design a substitution point to install a potential functional group for conjugation. This strategy led to the identification of the phenol-derived fXa inhibitor ASP8102 (14), which demonstrated highly potent anticoagulant activity after biotransformation into the corresponding glucuronide (16) via oral dosing.