GNE-3500

Retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptors (RORs) are ligand-dependent transcriptional factors and members of the nuclear receptor superfamily. RORs regulate inflammation, metabolic disorders and circadian rhythm. RORγ is a promising therapeutic drug target for treating Th17-mediated autoimmune diseases. In our study, we performed structure-based virtual screening and ligand-based virtual screening targeting the RORγ ligand-binding domain and successfully identified N-phenyl-2-(N-phenylphenylsulfonamido) acetamides as a type of RORγ inverse agonist. Among the 28 purchased compounds, C11 was confirmed to be active with micromolar IC50 values in both an AlphaScreen assay (62.58 μM) and a cell-based reporter gene assay (4.54 μM). Structure-guided optimization of the compound C11 led to the identification of compound 39, which significantly enhanced RORγ inhibition with an IC50 value of 630 nM. The RORγ antagonism of 39 was 7-fold higher than that of hit compound C11. These results represent a promising starting point for developing potent small molecule RORγ inverse agonists for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, and multiple sclerosis.

Retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor C (RORc, RORγ, or NR1F3) is a nuclear receptor that plays a major role in the production of interleukin (IL)-17. Considerable efforts have been directed toward the discovery of selective RORc inverse agonists as potential treatments of inflammatory diseases such as psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis. Using the previously reported tertiary sulfonamide 1 as a starting point, we engineered structural modifications that significantly improved human and rat metabolic stabilities while maintaining a potent and highly selective RORc inverse agonist profile. The most advanced δ-sultam compound, GNE-3500 (27, 1-{4-[3-fluoro-4-((3S,6R)-3-methyl-1,1-dioxo-6-phenyl-[1,2]thiazinan-2-ylmethyl)-phenyl]-piperazin-1-yl}-ethanone), possessed favorable RORc cellular potency with 75-fold selectivity for RORc over other ROR family members and >200-fold selectivity over 25 additional nuclear receptors in a cell assay panel. The favorable potency, selectivity, in vitro ADME properties, in vivo PK, and dose-dependent inhibition of IL-17 in a PK/PD model support the evaluation of 27 in preclinical studies.