Discovery of benzoheterocyclic-substituted amide derivatives as apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) inhibitors

Three series of benzoheterocyclic-substituted amide derivatives were designed and synthesized as potent ASK1 inhibitors in this work. After undergoing continuous structural optimization, compound 17a was discovered to be a novel inhibitor of ASK1 with good potency (kinase, IC₅₀ = 26 nM), noteworthy liver microsomal stability (human, T_1/2 = 340.4 min), good pharmacokinetic parameters (rat, T_1/2 p.o. = 2.11 h, AUC_last p.o. = 10 900 h ng mL^-1) and high oral bioavailability (rat, F = 97.9%), while also being inactive towards hERG (IC₅₀ > 10 μM).