Robert J. Slack

In vitro pharmacological characterization of vilanterol, a novel long-acting β2-adrenoceptor agonist with 24-hour duration of action.

Vilanterol trifenatate (vilanterol) is a novel, long-acting β2-adrenoceptor (β2-AR) agonist with 24 h activity. In this study, we describe the preclinical pharmacological profile of vilanterol using radioligand binding and cAMP studies in recombinant assays as well as human and guinea pig tissue systems to characterize β2-AR binding and functional properties. Vilanterol displayed a subnanomolar affinity for the β2-AR that was comparable with that of salmeterol but higher than olodaterol, formoterol, and indacaterol. In cAMP functional activity studies, vilanterol demonstrated similar selectivity as salmeterol for β2- over β1-AR and β3-AR, but a significantly improved selectivity profile than formoterol and indacaterol. Vilanterol also showed a level of intrinsic efficacy that was comparable to indacaterol but significantly greater than that of salmeterol. In cellular cAMP production and tissue-based studies measuring persistence and reassertion, vilanterol had a persistence of action comparable with indacaterol and longer than formoterol. In addition, vilanterol demonstrated reassertion activity in both cell and tissue systems that was comparable with salmeterol and indacaterol but longer than formoterol. In human airways, vilanterol was shown to have a faster onset and longer duration of action than salmeterol, exhibiting a significant level of bronchodilation 22 h after treatment. From these investigations, the data for vilanterol are consistent, showing that it is a novel, potent, and selective β2-AR receptor agonist with a long duration of action. This pharmacological profile combined with clinical data is consistent with once a day dosing of vilanterol in the treatment of both asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Pharmacological Characterization of GSK573719 (Umeclidinium): A Novel, Long-Acting, Inhaled Antagonist of the Muscarinic Cholinergic Receptors for Treatment of Pulmonary Diseases

Activation of muscarinic subtype 3 (M3) muscarinic cholinergic receptors (mAChRs) increases airway tone, whereas its blockade improves lung function and quality of life in patients with pulmonary diseases. The present study evaluated the pharmacological properties of a novel mAChR antagonist, GSK573719 (4-[hydroxy(diphenyl)methyl]-1-{2-[(phenylmethyl)oxy]ethyl}-1-azoniabicyclo[2.2.2]octane; umeclidinium). The affinity (Ki) of GSK573719 for the cloned human M1–M5 mAChRs ranged from 0.05 to 0.16 nM. Dissociation of [3H]GSK573719 from the M3 mAChR was slower than that for the M2 mAChR [half-life (t1/2) values: 82 and 9 minutes, respectively]. In Chinese hamster ovary cells transfected with recombinant human M3 mAChRs, GSK573719 demonstrated picomolar potency (–log pA2 = 23.9 pM) in an acetylcholine (Ach)-mediated Ca2+ mobilization assay. Concentration-response curves indicate competitive antagonism with partial reversibility after drug washout. Using isolated human bronchial strips, GSK573719 was also potent and showed competitive antagonism (–log pA2 = 316 pM) versus carbachol, and was slowly reversible in a concentration-dependent manner (1–100 nM). The time to 50% restoration of contraction at 10 nM was about 381 minutes (versus 413 minutes for tiotropium bromide). In mice, the ED50 value was 0.02 μg/mouse intranasally. In conscious guinea pigs, intratracheal administration of GSK573719 dose dependently blocked Ach-induced bronchoconstriction with long duration of action, and was comparable to tiotropium; 2.5 μg elicited 50% bronchoprotection for >24 hours. Thus, GSK573719 is a potent anticholinergic agent that demonstrates slow functional reversibility at the human M3 mAChR and long duration of action in animal models. This pharmacological profile translated into a 24-hour duration of bronchodilation in vivo, which suggested umeclidinium will be a once-daily inhaled treatment of pulmonary diseases.

The Discovery of Phthalazinone-Based Human H1 and H3 Single-Ligand Antagonists Suitable for Intranasal Administration for the Treatment of Allergic Rhinitis

A series of potent phthalazinone-based human H(1) and H(3) bivalent histamine receptor antagonists, suitable for intranasal administration for the potential treatment of allergic rhinitis, were identified. Blockade of H(3) receptors is thought to improve efficacy on nasal congestion, a symptom of allergic rhinitis that is currently not treated by current antihistamines. Two analogues (56a and 56b) had slightly lower H(1) potency (pA(2) 9.1 and 8.9, respectively, vs 9.7 for the clinical gold-standard azelastine, and H(3) potency (pK(i) 9.6 and 9.5, respectively, vs 6.8 for azelastine). Compound 56a had longer duration of action than azelastine, low brain penetration, and low oral bioavailability, which coupled with the predicted low clinical dose, should limit the potential of engaging CNS-related side-effects associated with H(1) or H(3) antagonism.

Internalization of the chemokine receptor CCR4 can be evoked by orthosteric and allosteric receptor antagonists

The chemokine receptor CCR4 has at least two natural agonist ligands, MDC (CCL22) and TARC (CCL17) which bind to the same orthosteric site with a similar affinity. Both ligands are known to evoke chemotaxis of CCR4-bearing T cells and also elicit CCR4 receptor internalization. A series of small molecule allosteric antagonists have been described which displace the agonist ligand, and inhibit chemotaxis. The aim of this study was to determine which cellular coupling pathways are involved in internalization, and if antagonists binding to the CCR4 receptor could themselves evoke receptor internalization. CCL22 binding coupled CCR4 efficiently to β-arrestin and stimulated GTPγS binding however CCL17 did not couple to β-arrestin and only partially stimulated GTPγS binding. CCL22 potently induced internalization of almost all cell surface CCR4, while CCL17 showed only weak effects. We describe four small molecule antagonists that were demonstrated to bind to two distinct allosteric sites on the CCR4 receptor, and while both classes inhibited agonist ligand binding and chemotaxis, one of the allosteric sites also evoked receptor internalization. Furthermore, we also characterize an N-terminally truncated version of CCL22 which acts as a competitive antagonist at the orthosteric site, and surprisingly also evokes receptor internalization without demonstrating any agonist activity. Collectively this study demonstrates that orthosteric and allosteric antagonists of the CCR4 receptor are capable of evoking receptor internalization, providing a novel strategy for drug discovery against this class of target.

Synthesis and Structure–Activity Relationships of Indazole Arylsulfonamides as Allosteric CC-Chemokine Receptor 4 (CCR4) Antagonists

A series of indazole arylsulfonamides were synthesized and examined as human CCR4 antagonists. Methoxy- or hydroxyl-containing groups were the more potent indazole C4 substituents. Only small groups were tolerated at C5, C6, or C7, with the C6 analogues being preferred. The most potent N3-substituent was 5-chlorothiophene-2-sulfonamide. N1 meta-substituted benzyl groups possessing an α-amino-3-[(methylamino)acyl]-group were the most potent N1-substituents. Strongly basic amino groups had low oral absorption in vivo. Less basic analogues, such as morpholines, had good oral absorption; however, they also had high clearance. The most potent compound with high absorption in two species was analogue 6 (GSK2239633A), which was selected for further development. Aryl sulfonamide antagonists bind to CCR4 at an intracellular allosteric site denoted site II. X-ray diffraction studies on two indazole sulfonamide fragments suggested the presence of an important intramolecular interaction in the active conformation.

Lead optimisation of the N1 substituent of a novel series of indazole arylsulfonamides as CCR4 antagonists and identification of a candidate for clinical investigation.

Synthesis and preliminary SAR of the N1 substituent of a novel series of indazole sulfonamide chemokine receptor 4 (CCR4) antagonist is reported. Compound 7r was identified for further development.

Antagonism of human CC-chemokine receptor 4 can be achieved through three distinct binding sites on the receptor

Chemokine receptor antagonists appear to access two distinct binding sites on different members of this receptor family. One class of CCR4 antagonists has been suggested to bind to a site accessible from the cytoplasm while a second class did not bind to this site. In this report, we demonstrate that antagonists representing a variety of structural classes bind to two distinct allosteric sites on CCR4. The effects of pairs of low‐molecular weight and/or chemokine CCR4 antagonists were evaluated on CCL17‐ and CCL22‐induced responses of human CCR4+ T cells. This provided an initial grouping of the antagonists into sets which appeared to bind to distinct binding sites. Binding studies were then performed with radioligands from each set to confirm these groupings. Some novel receptor theory was developed to allow the interpretation of the effects of the antagonist combinations. The theory indicates that, generally, the concentration‐ratio of a pair of competing allosteric modulators is maximally the sum of their individual effects while that of two modulators acting at different sites is likely to be greater than their sum. The low‐molecular weight antagonists could be grouped into two sets on the basis of the functional and binding experiments. The antagonistic chemokines formed a third set whose behaviour was consistent with that of simple competitive antagonists. These studies indicate that there are two allosteric regulatory sites on CCR4.

Synthesis and pharmacological investigation of azaphthalazinone human histamine H(1) receptor antagonists.

5-Aza, 6-aza, 7-aza and 8-aza-phthalazinone, and 5,8-diazaphthalazinone templates were synthesised by stereoselective routes starting from the appropriate pyridine/pyrazine dicarboxylic acids by activation with CDI, reaction with 4-chlorophenyl acetate ester enolate to give a β-ketoester, which was hydrolysed, and decarboxylated. The resulting ketone was condensed with hydrazine to form the azaphthalazinone core. The azaphthalazinone cores were alkylated with N-Boc-D-prolinol at N-2 by Mitsunobu reaction, de-protected, and then alkylated at the pyrrolidine nitrogen to provide the target H(1) receptor antagonists. All four mono-azaphthalazinone series had higher affinity (pK(i)) for the human H(1) receptor than azelastine, but were not as potent as the parent non-aza phthalazinone. The 5,8-diazaphthalazinone was equipotent with azelastine. The least potent series were the 7-azaphthalazinones, whereas the 5-azaphthalazinones were the most lipophilic. The more hydrophilic series were the 8-aza series. Replacement of the N-methyl substituent on the pyrrolidine with the n-butyl group caused an increase in potency (pA(2)) and a corresponding increase in lipophilicity. Introduction of a β-ether oxygen in the n-butyl analogues (2-methoxyethyl group) decreased the H(1) pA(2) slightly, and increased the selectivity against hERG. The duration of action in vitro was longer in the 6-azaphthalazinone series. The more potent and selective 6-azaphthalazinone core was used to append an H(3) receptor antagonist fragment, and to convert the series into the long acting single-ligand, dual H(1) H(3) receptor antagonist 44. The pharmacological profile of 44 was very similar to our intranasal clinical candidate 1.

Characterisation of a novel, high affinity and selective αvβ6 integrin RGD-mimetic radioligand

The alpha-v beta-6 (αvβ6) integrin has been identified as playing a key role in the activation of transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ) that is hypothesised to be pivotal in the development of cancer and fibrotic diseases. Therefore, the αvβ6 integrin is an attractive therapeutic target for these debilitating diseases and a drug discovery programme to identify small molecule αvβ6 selective arginyl-glycinyl-aspartic acid (RGD)-mimetics was initiated within GlaxoSmithKline. The primary aim of this study was to pharmacologically characterise the binding to αvβ6 of a novel clinical candidate, compound 1, using a radiolabelled form. Radioligand binding studies were completed with [(3)H]compound 1 against the human and mouse soluble protein forms of αvβ6 to determine accurate affinity estimates and binding kinetics. The selectivity of compound 1 for the RGD integrin family was also determined using saturation binding studies (αvβ1, αvβ3, αvβ5, αvβ8, α5β1 and α8β1 integrins) and fibrinogen-induced platelet aggregation (αIIbβ3 integrin). In addition, the relationship between divalent metal cation type and concentration and αvβ6 RGD site binding was also investigated. Compound 1 has been demonstrated to bind with extremely high affinity and selectivity for the αvβ6 integrin and has the potential as a clinical tool and therapeutic for investigating the role of αvβ6 in a range of disease states both pre-clinically and clinically. In addition, this is the first study that has successfully applied radioligand binding to the RGD integrin field to accurately determine the affinity and selectivity profile of a small molecule RGD-mimetic.

In vitro characterisation of the duration of action of the histamine-1 receptor antagonist azelastine.

Azelastine is a selective antagonist at the human histamine-1 receptor and is used clinically in the treatment of allergic rhinitis. In this study we have investigated its duration of action in vitro in an effort to characterise the receptor and tissue components involved. Chinese hamster ovary cell membrane fragments were used to determine the kinetics of azelastine at the H₁ receptor in a radioligand binding assay. Further duration of action studies were completed in tissue preparations using guinea-pig trachea and human bronchus. In radioligand binding studies, azelastine reached steady state at the H₁ receptor after approximately 41 min and exhibited a significantly slower dissociation rate constant from the receptor than the first generation antihistamine, diphenhydramine. In washout studies completed in guinea-pig and human airway in vitro tissue preparations, azelastine continued to antagonise the effects of histamine at the H₁ receptor for at least 18 h post-washout of the antagonist. This outcome was reversed following removal of the epithelium from guinea-pig isolated tracheal strips. These studies indicate there is a tissue component contributing to azelastines duration of action, in addition to its direct H₁ receptor binding, with evidence suggesting a role for the epithelial layer.