2,7-naphthyridinone-based MET kinase inhibitors: A promising novel scaffold for antitumor drug development

As part of our effort to develop new molecular targeted antitumor drug, a novel 2,7-naphthyridone-based MET kinase inhibitor, 8-((4-((2-amino-3-chloropyridin-4-yl)oxy)- 3-fluorophenyl)amino)-2-(4-fluorophenyl)-2,7-naphthyridin-1(2H)-one (13f), was identified. Knowledge of the binding mode of BMS-777607 in MET led to the design of new inhibitors that utilize novel 2,7-naphthyridone scaffold to conformationally restrain the key pharmacophoric groups (block C). Detailed SAR studies resulted in the discovery of a new MET inhibitor 13f, displaying favorable in vitro potency and oral bioavailability. More importantly, 13f exhibited excellent in vivo efficacy (tumor growth inhibition/TGI of 114% and 95% in 50 mg/kg, respectively) both in the U-87 MG and HT-29 xenograft models. The favorable drug-likeness of 13f indicated that 2,7-naphthyridinone may be used a promising novel scaffold for antitumor drug development. The preclinical studies of 13f are under way. [Display omitted] •2,7-Naphthyridinone was developed as a promising scaffold for the discovery of new MET-targeted antitumor drug.•The 2,7-naphthyridone fragment was utilized to conformationally restrain key block C of BMS-777607.•Early drug candidate 13f displayed favorable in vitro potency, PK profiles and in vivo antitumor efficacy.