jnj-10397049 and Sleep-Initiation-and-Maintenance-Disorders

Since its discovery in 1998, the orexin system, composed of two G-protein coupled receptors, orexins 1 and 2, and two neuropeptide agonists, orexins A and B, has captured the attention of the scientific community as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of obesity, anxiety, and sleep/wake disorders. Genetic evidence in rodents, dogs, and humans was revealed between 1999 and 2000, demonstrating a causal link between dysfunction or deletion of the orexin system and narcolepsy, a disorder characterized by hypersomnolence during normal wakefulness. These findings encouraged efforts to discover agonists to treat narcolepsy and, alternatively, antagonists to treat insomnia. This perspective will focus on the discovery and development of structurally diverse orexin antagonists suitable for preclinical pharmacology studies and human clinical trials. The work described herein culminated in the 2014 FDA approval of suvorexant as a first-in-class dual orexin receptor antagonist for the treatment of insomnia.

Topics: Animals; Dogs; Humans; Hypnotics and Sedatives; Mice; Models, Molecular; Narcolepsy; Orexin Receptor Antagonists; Orexin Receptors; Rats; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders

The preclinical characterization of novel octahydropyrrolo[3,4-c]pyrroles that are potent and selective orexin-2 antagonists is described. Optimization of physicochemical and DMPK properties led to the discovery of compounds with tissue distribution and duration of action suitable for evaluation in the treatment of primary insomnia. These selective orexin-2 antagonists are proven to promote sleep in rats, and this work ultimately led to the identification of a compound that progressed into human clinical trials for the treatment of primary insomnia. The synthesis, SAR, and optimization of the pharmacokinetic properties of this series of compounds as well as the identification of the clinical candidate, JNJ-42847922 (34), are described herein.

Topics: Animals; Clinical Trials as Topic; Dogs; Humans; Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; Male; Neuropeptides; Orexin Receptors; Orexins; Pyrroles; Rats; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders; Structure-Activity Relationship; Substrate Specificity