Synthetic Process Development of BMS-599793 Including Azaindole Negishi Coupling on Kilogram Scale

A new approach to the synthesis of <b>1</b> (DS003, BMS-599793), a small-molecule HIV entry inhibitor, is described. The initial medical chemistry route has been modified by rearranging the sequence of synthetic steps followed by replacement of the Suzuki coupling step by the Negishi conditions. Acylation of the resulting azaindole <b>7</b> under the Friedel–Crafts conditions is studied using monoesters of chlorooxalic acid in the presence of aluminum chloride. Polymorphism of <b>1</b> is also investigated to develop conditions suitable for preparation of the desired Form <b>1</b> of the target compound. The new route is further optimized and scaled up to establish a new process that is applied to the synthesis of kilogram quantites of the target active pharmaceutical ingredient

A New Inhibitor of Tubulin Polymerization Kills Multiple Cancer Cell Types and Reveals p21-Mediated Mechanism Determining Cell Death after Mitotic Catastrophe

Induction of mitotic catastrophe through the disruption of microtubules is an established target in cancer therapy. However, the molecular mechanisms determining the mitotic catastrophe and the following apoptotic or non-apoptotic cell death remain poorly understood. Moreover, many existing drugs targeting tubulin, such as vincristine, have reduced efficacy, resulting from poor solubility in physiological conditions. Here, we introduce a novel small molecule 2-aminoimidazoline derivative&mdash;OAT-449, a synthetic water-soluble tubulin inhibitor. OAT-449 in a concentration range from 6 to 30 nM causes cell death of eight different cancer cell lines in vitro, and significantly inhibits tumor development in such xenograft models as HT-29 (colorectal adenocarcinoma) and SK-N-MC (neuroepithelioma) in vivo. Mechanistic studies showed that OAT-449, like vincristine, inhibited tubulin polymerization and induced profound multi-nucleation and mitotic catastrophe in cancer cells. HeLa and HT-29 cells within 24 h of treatment arrested in G2/M cell cycle phase, presenting mitotic catastrophe features, and 24 h later died by non-apoptotic cell death. In HT-29 cells, both agents altered phosphorylation status of Cdk1 and of spindle assembly checkpoint proteins NuMa and Aurora B, while G2/M arrest and apoptosis blocking was consistent with p53-independent accumulation in the nucleus and largely in the cytoplasm of p21/waf1/cip1, a key determinant of cell fate programs. This is the first common mechanism for the two microtubule-dissociating agents, vincristine and OAT-449, determining the cell death pathway following mitotic catastrophe demonstrated in HT-29 cells