The Discovery of Orally Bioavailable Tyrosine Threonine Kinase (TTK) Inhibitors: 3-(4-(heterocyclyl)phenyl)-1H-indazole-5-carboxamides as Anticancer Agents

The acetamido and carboxamido substituted 3-(1H-indazol-3-yl)benzenesulfonamides are potent TTK inhibitors. However, they display modest ability to attenuate cancer cell growth; their physicochemical properties, and attendant pharmacokinetic parameters, are not drug-like. By eliminating the polar 3-sulfonamide group and grafting a heterocycle at the 4 position of the phenyl ring, potent inhibitors with oral exposure were obtained. An X-ray cocrystal structure and a refined binding model allowed for a structure guided approach. Systematic optimization resulted in novel TTK inhibitors, namely 3-(4-(heterocyclyl)phenyl)-1H-indazole-5-carboxamides. Compounds incorporating the 3-hydroxy-8-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octan-8-yl bicyclic system were potent (TTK IC50 < 10 nM, HCT116 GI50 < 0.1 μM), displayed low off-target activity (>500×), and microsomal stability (T1/2 > 30 min). A subset was tested in rodent PK and mouse xenograft models of human cancer. Compound 75 (CFI-401870) recapitulated the phenotype of TTK RNAi, demonstrated in vivo tumor growth inhibition upon oral dosing, and was selected for preclinical evaluation.