Discovery of Clinical Candidate NTQ1062 as a Potent and Bioavailable Akt Inhibitor for the Treatment of Human Tumors

J Med Chem. 2022 Jun 23;65(12):8144-8168. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c00527. Epub 2022 Jun 9.

Abstract

Akt has emerged as an exciting target in oncology due to its critical roles in proliferation, survival, metabolism, metastasis, and invasion in tumor cells. Herein, we describe the discovery and optimization of a series of ATP-competitive Akt inhibitors that possess new chemical scaffolds and exhibit potent enzymatic activities and improved in vivo pharmacokinetic profiles. Remarkably, NTQ1062 (compound 22b) exhibited potent antitumor efficacies in vitro and in vivo, which was accomplished through the optimization of the hinge binder region and the linkage. Subsequent studies of NTQ1062 demonstrated that it possesses good oral pharmacokinetic characteristics and dose-dependent pharmacodynamic effects on downstream biomarkers. In addition, NTQ1062 exhibits a robust antitumor efficacy in xenograft models in which the PI3K-Akt-mTOR pathway was activated. Based on its ideal druglike properties, NTQ1062 is currently being evaluated in a phase I clinical trial for the treatment of advanced solid tumors (CTR20211999).

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antineoplastic Agents* / chemistry
  • Antineoplastic Agents* / pharmacology
  • Cell Line, Tumor
  • Cell Proliferation
  • Humans
  • Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases / metabolism
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors* / chemistry
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors* / pharmacology
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt* / antagonists & inhibitors
  • Xenograft Model Antitumor Assays

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt