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There is increasing evidence that tumor-associated macrophages promote the malignancy of some cancers. Colony-stimulating factor-1 (CSF-1) is expressed by many tumors and is a growth factor for macrophages and mediates osteoclast differentiation. Herein, we report the efficacy of a novel orally active CSF-1 receptor (CSF-1R) kinase inhibitor, JNJ-28312141, in proof of concept studies of solid tumor growth and tumor-induced bone erosion. H460 lung adenocarcinoma cells did not express CSF-1R and were not growth inhibited by JNJ-28312141 in vitro. Nevertheless, daily p.o. administration of JNJ-28312141 caused dose-dependent suppression of H460 tumor growth in nude mice that correlated with marked reductions in F4/80+ tumor-associated macrophages and with increased plasma CSF-1, a possible biomarker of CSF-1R inhibition. Furthermore, the tumor microvasculature was reduced in JNJ-28312141–treated mice, consistent with a role for macrophages in tumor angiogenesis. In separate studies, JNJ-28312141 was compared with zoledronate in a model in which MRMT-1 mammary carcinoma cells inoculated into the tibias of rats led to severe cortical and trabecular bone lesions. Both agents reduced tumor growth and preserved bone. However, JNJ-28312141 reduced the number of tumor-associated osteoclasts superior to zoledronate. JNJ-28312141 exhibited additional activity against FMS-related receptor tyrosine kinase-3 (FLT3). To more fully define the therapeutic potential of this new agent, JNJ-28312141 was evaluated in a FLT3-dependent acute myeloid leukemia tumor xenograft model and caused tumor regression. In summary, this novel CSF-1R/FLT3 inhibitor represents a new agent with potential therapeutic activity in acute myeloid leukemia and in settings where CSF-1–dependent macrophages and osteoclasts contribute to tumor growth and skeletal events. [Mol Cancer Ther 2009;8(11):3151–61]

Supplementary Figure 1, Tables 1-4 from JNJ-28312141, a novel orally active colony-stimulating factor-1 receptor/FMS-related receptor tyrosine kinase-3 receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor with potential utility in solid tumors, bone metastases, and acute myeloid leukemia

Complement C1s protease inhibitors have potential utility in the treatment of diseases associated with activation of the classical complement pathway such as humorally mediated graft rejection, ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI), vascular leak syndrome, and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The utility of biphenylsulfonyl-thiophene-carboxamidine small-molecule C1s inhibitors are limited by their poor in vivo pharmacokinetic properties. Pegylation of a potent analog has provided compounds with good potency and good in vivo pharmacokinetic properties.

Thermosensitive transient receptor potential melastatin 8 (TRPM8) antagonists are considered to be potential therapeutic agents for the treatment of cold hypersensitivity. The discovery of a new class of TRPM8 antagonists that shows in vivo efficacy in the rat chronic constriction injury (CCI)-induced model of neuropathic pain is described.

A class of potent inhibitors of colony-stimulating factor-1 receptor (CSF-1R or FMS), as exemplified by 8 and 21, was optimized to improve pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties and potential toxicological liabilities. Early stage absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion assays were employed to ensure the incorporation of druglike properties resulting in the selection of several compounds with good activity in a pharmacodynamic screening assay in mice. Further investigation, utilizing the type II collagen-induced arthritis model in mice, culminated in the selection of anti-inflammatory development candidate JNJ-28312141 (23, FMS IC(50) = 0.69 nM, cell assay IC(50) = 2.6 nM). Compound 23 also demonstrated efficacy in rat adjuvant and streptococcal cell wall-induced models of arthritis and has entered phase I clinical trials.

There is increasing evidence that tumor-associated macrophages promote the malignancy of some cancers. Colony-stimulating factor-1 (CSF-1) is expressed by many tumors and is a growth factor for macrophages and mediates osteoclast differentiation. Herein, we report the efficacy of a novel orally active CSF-1 receptor (CSF-1R) kinase inhibitor, JNJ-28312141, in proof of concept studies of solid tumor growth and tumor-induced bone erosion. H460 lung adenocarcinoma cells did not express CSF-1R and were not growth inhibited by JNJ-28312141 in vitro. Nevertheless, daily p.o. administration of JNJ-28312141 caused dose-dependent suppression of H460 tumor growth in nude mice that correlated with marked reductions in F4/80+ tumor-associated macrophages and with increased plasma CSF-1, a possible biomarker of CSF-1R inhibition. Furthermore, the tumor microvasculature was reduced in JNJ-28312141–treated mice, consistent with a role for macrophages in tumor angiogenesis. In separate studies, JNJ-28312141 was compared with zoledronate in a model in which MRMT-1 mammary carcinoma cells inoculated into the tibias of rats led to severe cortical and trabecular bone lesions. Both agents reduced tumor growth and preserved bone. However, JNJ-28312141 reduced the number of tumor-associated osteoclasts superior to zoledronate. JNJ-28312141 exhibited additional activity against FMS-related receptor tyrosine kinase-3 (FLT3). To more fully define the therapeutic potential of this new agent, JNJ-28312141 was evaluated in a FLT3-dependent acute myeloid leukemia tumor xenograft model and caused tumor regression. In summary, this novel CSF-1R/FLT3 inhibitor represents a new agent with potential therapeutic activity in acute myeloid leukemia and in settings where CSF-1–dependent macrophages and osteoclasts contribute to tumor growth and skeletal events. [Mol Cancer Ther 2009;8(11):3151–61]

An anti-inflammatory 1,2,4-phenylenetriamine-containing series of FMS inhibitors with a potential to form reactive metabolites was transformed into a series with equivalent potency by incorporation of carbon-based replacement groups. Structure-based modeling provided the framework to efficiently effect this transformation and restore potencies to previous levels. This optimization removed a risk factor for potential idiosyncratic drug reactions.

The optimization of the arylamide lead 2 resulted in identification of a highly potent series of 2,4-disubstituted arylamides. Compound 8 (FMS kinase IC(50)=0.0008 microM) served as a proof-of-concept candidate in a collagen-induced model of arthritis in mice.

Complement activation has been implicated in disease states such as hereditary angioedema, ischemia-reperfusion injury, acute respiratory distress syndrome, and acute transplant rejection. Even though the complement cascade provides several protein targets for potential therapeutic intervention only two complement inhibitors have been approved so far for clinical use including anti-C5 antibodies for the treatment of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria and purified C1-esterase inhibitor replacement therapy for the control of hereditary angioedema flares. In the present study, optimization of potency and physicochemical properties of a series of thiophene amidine-based C1s inhibitors with potential utility as intravenous agents for the inhibition of the classical pathway of complement is described.

A series of 3,4,6-substituted 2-quinolones has been synthesized and evaluated as inhibitors of the kinase domain of macrophage colony-stimulating factor-1 receptor (FMS). The fully optimized compound, 4-(4-ethyl-phenyl)-3-(2-methyl-3H-imidazol-4-yl)-2-quinolone-6-carbonitrile 21b, has an IC(50) of 2.5 nM in an in vitro assay and 5.0 nM in a bone marrow-derived macrophage cellular assay. Inhibition of FMS signaling in vivo was also demonstrated in a mouse pharmacodynamic model.

Inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH), a key enzyme in the de novo synthesis of guanosine nucleotides, catalyzes the irreversible nicotinamide-adenine dinucleotide dependent oxidation of inosine-5'-monophosphate to xanthosine-5'-monophosphate. Mycophenolate Mofetil (MMF), a prodrug of mycophenolic acid, has clinical utility for the treatment of transplant rejection based on its inhibition of IMPDH. The overall clinical benefit of MMF is limited by what is generally believed to be compound-based, dose-limiting gastrointestinal (GI) toxicity that is related to its specific pharmacokinetic characteristics. Thus, development of an IMPDH inhibitor with a novel structure and a different pharmacokinetic profile may reduce the likelihood of GI toxicity and allow for increased efficacy. This article will detail the discovery and SAR leading to a novel and potent acridone-based IMPDH inhibitor 4m and its efficacy and GI tolerability when administered orally in a rat adjuvant arthritis model.

A series of novel small molecule inhibitors of inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH), based upon a 3-cyanoindole core, were explored. IMPDH catalyzes the rate determining step in guanine nucleotide biosynthesis and is a target for anticancer, immunosuppressive and antiviral therapy. The synthesis and the structure-activity relationships (SAR), derived from in vitro studies, for this new series of inhibitors is given.

Structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies on a highly potent series of arylamide FMS inhibitors were carried out with the aim of improving FMS kinase selectivity, particularly over KIT. Potent compound 17r (FMS IC50 0.7 nM, FMS cell IC50 6.1 nM) was discovered that had good PK properties and a greater than fivefold improvement in selectivity for FMS over KIT kinase in a cellular assay relative to the previously reported clinical candidate 4. This improved selectivity was manifested in vivo by no observed decrease in circulating reticulocytes, a measure of bone safety, at the highest studied dose. Compound 17r was highly active in a mouse pharmacodynamic model and demonstrated disease-modifying effects in a dose-dependent manner in a strep cell wall-induced arthritis model of rheumatoid arthritis in rats.

A class of potent inhibitors of colony-stimulating factor-1 receptor (CSF-1R or FMS), as exemplified by 8 and 21, was optimized to improve pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties and potential toxicological liabilities. Early stage absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion assays were employed to ensure the incorporation of druglike properties resulting in the selection of several compounds with good activity in a pharmacodynamic screening assay in mice. Further investigation, utilizing the type II collagen-induced arthritis model in mice, culminated in the selection of anti-inflammatory development candidate JNJ-28312141 (23, FMS IC(50) = 0.69 nM, cell assay IC(50) = 2.6 nM). Compound 23 also demonstrated efficacy in rat adjuvant and streptococcal cell wall-induced models of arthritis and has entered phase I clinical trials.

During efforts to improve the bioavailability of FMS kinase inhibitors 1 and 2, a series of saturated and aromatic 4-heterocycles of reduced basicity were prepared and evaluated in an attempt to also improve the cardiovascular safety profile over lead arylamide 1, which possessed ion channel activity. The resultant compounds retained excellent potency and exhibited diminished ion channel activity.

We have identified RWJ-671818 (8) as a novel, low molecular weight, orally active inhibitor of human alpha-thrombin (K(i) = 1.3 nM) that is potentially useful for the acute and chronic treatment of venous and arterial thrombosis. In a rat deep venous thrombosis model used to assess antithrombotic efficacy, oral administration of 8 at 30 and 50 mg/kg reduced thrombus weight by 87 and 94%, respectively. In an anesthetized rat antithrombotic model, where electrical stimulation of the carotid artery created a thrombus, 8 prolonged occlusion time 2- and 3-fold at 0.1 and 1.0 mg/kg, i.v., respectively, and more than doubled activated clotting time and activated partial thromboplastin time at the higher dose. This compound had excellent oral bioavailability of 100% in dogs with an estimated half-life of approximately 3 h. On the basis of its noteworthy preclinical data, 8 was advanced into human clinical trials and successfully progressed through phase 1 studies.

Inhibiting the classical pathway of complement activation by attenuating the proteolytic activity of the serine protease C1s is a potential strategy for the therapeutic intervention in disease states such as hereditary angioedema, ischemia-reperfusion injury, and acute transplant rejection. A series of arylsulfonylthiophene-2-carboxamidine inhibitors of C1s were synthesized and evaluated for C1s inhibitory activity. The most potent compound had a Ki of 10nM and >1000-fold selectivity over uPA, tPA, FX(a), thrombin, and plasmin.

The development of a series of novel indole-based inhibitors of 5'-inosine monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) is described. Various hydrogen bond acceptors at C-3 of the indole were explored. The synthesis and the structure-activity relationships (SARs) derived from in vitro studies are outlined.

Background Tissue macrophage recruitment and osteoclastogenesis is dependent on the activation of colony stimulating factor-1 (CSF-1) receptor (R). To target macrophages and block osteoclastogenesis a JNJ compound was identified as a potent inhibitor of CSF-1R kinase that is effective in a streptococcal cell wall (SCW) model of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in rats. Objectives To demonstrate that functional and structural imaging can be used to monitor RA disease progression and efficacy of a CSF-1R kinase inhibitor in this aggressive model of rheumatoid arthritis. Methods Female Lewis rats were inoculated with SCW proteoglycan polysaccharide. By day 18 rats developed a stable immune-mediated polyarthritis; rats were randomized into three study groups: SCW-vehicle, SCW-JNJ-CSF-1R inhibitor (10 mg/kg, po, BID) and a naive, disease-free group (n=6/group); Treatment began on day 19 and continued daily for 14 days. Rats were scanned with [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose (18FDG) positron emission tomography (PET), MMPSense optical fluorescence imaging, and ultra-high resolution x-ray computed tomography (CT). 18FDG is a radioactive analogue of glucose that measures the increase in metabolic activity in inflamed tissues which is detected using PET. 18FDG-PET imaging was conducted at two time points, on day 18 prior to treatment, and again on day 31 after 13 days of treatment with compound. CT imaging was obtained at termination. Results On day 19, 18FDG-PET signal was markedly elevated in SCW-inoculated rats as compared to the naive disease-free group. By day 31, the 18FDG-PET signal was reduced to near control in the JNJ-CSF-1R inhibitor-treated rats, whereas signal intensity remained elevated in the SCW-vehicle group. Using an optical fluorescent imaging probe MMPSense that is activated by matrix metalloproteinases, key proteases involved in joint bone destruction, the degree of MMP activity in the joint was measured. On day 24, the optical intensity in the SCW-vehicle group was approximately twice the naive group, whereas JNJ-CSF-1R inhibitor reduced the signal to that in the naive group. These results for both 18FDG-PET and MMPSense suggest a very effective anti-inflammatory effect of JNJ-SCF-1R inhibitor after a relatively short duration of treatment. At termination excised paws were scanned in the CT imager and 3-D images revealed severe bone erosion in the tibia from the SCW-vehicle group. Histological analyses indicated that these erosions resulted from penetrating lesions of cortical and trabecular bone. Conversely, in the SCW-JNJ-CSF-1R inhibitor-treated group the bone erosion was reduced. These imaging results correlated with the reductions in clinical and histological scores seen in the CSF-1R kinase inhibitor-treated group. Conclusions Multi-imaging modalities including optical, PET and CT provided a wide range of imaging capabilities to fully characterize the beneficial effects of the CSF-1R inhibitor. It is concluded, based on the imaging results that the JNJ-CSF-1 kinase inhibitor may be effective in treating RA in humans. Disclosure of Interest None Declared