Abstract |
The administration of hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS3/4A protease inhibitors to patients with chronic HCV infections has demonstrated that they have dramatic antiviral effects and that compounds acting via this mechanism are likely to form a key component of future anti-HCV therapy. We report here on the preclinical profile of MK-7009, an inhibitor of genotype 1a and 1b proteases at subnanomolar concentrations with modestly shifted potency against genotype 2a and 2b proteases at low nanomolar concentrations. Potent activity was also observed in a cell-based HCV replicon assay in the presence of added human serum (50%). In multiple species evaluated in preclinical studies, the MK-7009 concentrations in the liver were maintained at a significant multiple of the cell-based replicon 50% effective concentration over 12 to 24 h following the administration of moderate oral doses (5 to 10 mg per kg of body weight). MK-7009 also had excellent selectivity against both a range of human proteases and a broad panel of pharmacologically relevant ion channels, receptors, and enzymes. On the basis of this favorable profile, MK-7009 was selected for clinical development and is currently being evaluated in controlled clinical trials with both healthy volunteers and HCV-infected patients.
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Authors | Nigel J Liverton, Steven S Carroll, Jillian Dimuzio, Christine Fandozzi, Donald J Graham, Daria Hazuda, M Katherine Holloway, Steven W Ludmerer, John A McCauley, Charles J McIntyre, David B Olsen, Michael T Rudd, Mark Stahlhut, Joseph P Vacca |
Journal | Antimicrobial agents and chemotherapy
(Antimicrob Agents Chemother)
Vol. 54
Issue 1
Pg. 305-11
(Jan 2010)
ISSN: 1098-6596 [Electronic] United States |
PMID | 19841155
(Publication Type: Journal Article)
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Chemical References |
- Antiviral Agents
- Cyclopropanes
- Indoles
- Interferon alpha-2
- Interferon-alpha
- Isoindoles
- Lactams, Macrocyclic
- NS3 protein, hepatitis C virus
- Protease Inhibitors
- Recombinant Proteins
- Sulfonamides
- Viral Nonstructural Proteins
- Proline
- vaniprevir
- Leucine
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Topics |
- Animals
- Antiviral Agents
(pharmacokinetics, pharmacology)
- Area Under Curve
- Cell Line
- Cyclopropanes
- Dogs
- Genotype
- Half-Life
- Hepacivirus
(drug effects, enzymology, genetics)
- Humans
- Indoles
(pharmacokinetics, pharmacology)
- Interferon alpha-2
- Interferon-alpha
(pharmacology)
- Isoindoles
- Lactams, Macrocyclic
- Leucine
(analogs & derivatives)
- Macaca mulatta
- Pan troglodytes
- Proline
(analogs & derivatives)
- Protease Inhibitors
(pharmacokinetics, pharmacology)
- Rats
- Recombinant Proteins
- Replicon
- Substrate Specificity
- Sulfonamides
- Viral Nonstructural Proteins
(antagonists & inhibitors, genetics)
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