Inhibitor compounds and cancer treatment methods

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to inhibitor compounds, compositions and cancer treatment methods.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Cancer, irrespective of its pathogenesis, is characterized by uncontrolled growth and survival of cells. Common to most forms of cancer is an error in the cellular mechanism responsible for balancing cell survival and cell death.

According to the American Cancer Society, lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for both men and women. Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) accounts for approximately 20% of all lung cancers. The 5-year survival rate for small cell lung cancer is about 15%.

Certain thiosemicarbazones, such as those disclosed in British Patent No. 1,026,401, International Patent Application No. WO2004/066725, Japanese Patent No. 56-95161 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,927,843, have been used to treat, for example, a variety of viruses. Other thiosemicarbazones, however, may be used to treat cancer. French Patent No. 2,879,194 is directed to certain thiosemicarbazones that may be used in the treatment or prevention of cancer, in dermatological treatment, in the treatment of cardiovascular and immune diseases, lipid-metabolism related diseases and modulate PPAR's. International Patent Application No. WO 2006/009765 is directed to specific thiosemicarbazones that may be used in anti-cancer therapy that mitigates the development of drug resistance. U.S. Pat. No. 4,593,027 is directed to hydrazone derivatives that may be used as a chemotherapeutic.

There is a need, however, for new therapeutic drug treatments to treat cancers more efficiently, and lung cancer in particular. Current treatment regimes for small cell lung cancer involve surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. While timely surgery can be curative, new therapies are necessary when timely surgery is not an option.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In an aspect, there is provided a therapeutically effective composition for use in the treatment of cancer comprising an anti-cancer agent and a therapeutically effective amount of a compound comprising a compound of Formula I:

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and/or a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt, hydrate, solvate, tautomer, optical isomer, or combination thereof;

wherein:

R₁and R₂together form a substituted or unsubstituted polycyclic ring comprising at least two ring systems, said at least two ring systems comprising a first ring system bonded to C1 and a second ring system fused to the first ring system, wherein:

the first ring system is a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic group, the second ring system is a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted carbocyclic group, or a substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic group; or

the first ring system is a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic group, the second ring system is a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted carbocyclic group, or a substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic group; or

the first ring system is a substituted or unsubstituted saturated carbocyclic group, the second ring system is a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted unsaturated carbocyclic group, a substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic group, or a substituted or unsubstituted ring B:

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wherein X₁to X₆are each independently selected from carbon or a heteroatom; or

the first ring system is a substituted or unsubstituted unsaturated carbocyclic group, the second ring system is a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted carbocyclic group, a substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic group, or a substituted or unsubstituted ring B:

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wherein X₁to X₆are each independently selected from carbon or a heteroatom; or

the first ring system is a substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic group, the second ring system is a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted carbocyclic group, or a substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic group; and

R₃to R₁₁are each independently selected from H, a substituted or unsubstituted hydrocarbon group, a substituted or unsubstituted heterogeneous group, a substituted or unsubstituted carbocyclic group, a substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic group, substituted or unsubstituted aromatic, or a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic;

R₁₂is selected from H or a hydrocarbyl group;

Y is selected from a heteroatom or a carbon atom;

A is selected from a substituted or unsubstituted hydrocarbon group, a substituted or unsubstituted heterogeneous group, a substituted or unsubstituted carbocyclic group, a substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic group, substituted or unsubstituted aromatic, or a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic; and

n is an integer;

wherein the composition produces a synergistic therapeutic effect as compared to sole administration of either the anti-cancer agent or the compound.

With respect to the above aspect, in another aspect, the compound is an mTOR-Rictor complex inhibitor, a Serine 473 phosphorylation inhibitor, an AKT2 inhibitor, or a combination thereof. In a further aspect, the compound is an mTOR-Rictor complex inhibitor, a Serine 473 phosphorylation inhibitor, or a combination thereof. In another aspect, the compound is both an mTOR-Rictor complex inhibitor and a Serine 473 phosphorylation inhibitor. In another aspect, the compound is an mTOR-Rictor complex inhibitor. In another aspect, the anti-cancer agent is an mTOR-Raptor complex inhibitor. In another aspect, the anticancer agent is a cytotoxic agent. In another aspect, the synergistic effect is reduction or prevention of resistance to the cytotoxic agent. In another aspect, the anti-cancer agent is selected from the group consisting of cisplatin, rapamycin, tecrolimus, temsirolimus, paclitaxel, erlotinib, cetuximab and doxorubicin. In another aspect, the cancer is treatable by inhibition of mTOR. In another aspect, the cancer is selected from the group consisting of lung cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, cancer of CNS, skin cancer, prostate cancer, sarcoma, breast cancer, leukemia, colorectal cancer, colon cancer, head cancer, neck cancer, endometrial cancer, and kidney cancer. In a further aspect, the cancer is selected from the group consisting of small cell lung cancer, breast cancer, acute leukemia, chronic leukemia, colorectal cancer, colon cancer, brain cancer, carcinoma, ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer, carcinoid tumors, metastatic colorectal cancer, islet cell carcinoma, metastatic renal con carcinoma, adenocarcinomas, glioblastoma multiforme, bronchoalveolar lung cancers, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, neuroendocrine tumors, and neuroblastoma. In another aspect, the cancer is ovarian, colon, colorectal or endometrial cancer. In another aspect, the amount of the anti-cancer agent is selected to lower overall toxicity as compared to administration of the anti-cancer agent alone in an amount sufficient to achieve substantially the same treatment effect on cancerous cells. In another aspect, the dose of at least one of the anti-cancer agent or the compound is selected to increase the overall treatment effect on cancerous cells as compared to administration of the anti-cancer agent alone in an amount producing substantially the same toxicity. In a further aspect, the amount of the compound is less than an amount of the anti-cancer agent. In another aspect, the amount of the compound is at most about 80%, about 50%, about 40%, about 30%, about 20%, about 10%, about 5%, about 3%, about 2%, about 1%, about 0.75%, about 0.5%, about 0.25%, or about 0.1% of the amount of the anti-cancer agent. In another aspect, the first ring system is a substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic group, the second ring system is a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted carbocyclic group, or a substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic group. In another aspect, the substituted or unsubstituted polycyclic ring further comprises a third ring system fused to the first ring system. In another aspect, the third ring system is a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted carbocyclic group, or a substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic group. In another aspect, n is 0. In another aspect, n is 1 and A is a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic group. In another aspect, A is a pyridinyl group. In another aspect, Y is a nitrogen atom. In another aspect, R₇is a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group or a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic group and R₃to R₆and R₈to R₁₂are each independently selected from H or a substituted or unsubstituted hydrocarbon group. In another aspect, R₇is the substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group or a substituted or unsubstituted pyridyl group and R₃to R₆and R₈to R₁₂are each H. In another aspect, the compound is selected from:

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and/or a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt, hydrate, solvate or combination thereof. In another aspect, the compound of Formula I is:

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and/or a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt, hydrate, solvate or combination thereof. In another aspect, the compound of Formula I is:

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and/or a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt, hydrate, solvate or combination thereof. In another aspect, the composition further comprising at least one pharmaceutically acceptable carrier and/or diluent. In another aspect, the compound is a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt of Formula I. In another aspect, the salt is an oxalate or tartrate.

In yet another aspect, there is provided a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt of a compound of Formula I:

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and/or optical isomer thereof;

wherein:

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wherein X₁to X₆are each independently selected from carbon or a heteroatom; or

R₁₂is selected from H or a hydrocarbyl group;

Y is selected from a heteroatom or a carbon atom;

n is an integer.

In a further aspect, there is provided a pharmaceutically-acceptable oxalate or tartrate salt of a compound of Formula I:

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and/or optical isomer thereof;

wherein:

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wherein X₁to X₆are each independently selected from carbon or a heteroatom; or

R₁₂is selected from H or a hydrocarbyl group;

Y is selected from a heteroatom or a carbon atom;

n is an integer.

With respect to the above aspects, in another aspect, the first ring system is a substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic group, the second ring system is a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted carbocyclic group, or a substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic group. In another aspect, the substituted or unsubstituted polycyclic ring further comprises a third ring system fused to the first ring system. In another aspect, the third ring system is a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted carbocyclic group, or a substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic group. In another aspect, n is 0. In another aspect, n is 1 and A is a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic group. In another aspect, A is a pyridinyl group. In another aspect, Y is a nitrogen atom. In another aspect, R₇is a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group or a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic group and R₃to R₆and R₈to R₁₂are each independently selected from H or a substituted or unsubstituted hydrocarbon group. In another aspect, R₇is the substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group or a substituted or unsubstituted pyridyl group and R₃to R₆and R₈to R₁₂are each H. In another aspect, the compound is selected from the salt of:

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In another aspect, the compound of Formula I is the salt of:

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In a further aspect, there is provided a method of treating a cancer in a mammal in need thereof comprising simultaneously or sequentially administering an anti-cancer agent in combination with a therapeutically effective amount of a compound that is an mTOR-Rictor complex inhibitor, a Serine 473 phosphorylation inhibitor, an AKT2 inhibitor, or a combination thereof, the combination providing a synergistic therapeutic effect as compared to sole administration of either the anti-cancer agent or the compound.

In another aspect, the cancer is selected from the group consisting of lung cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, cancer of CNS, skin cancer, prostate cancer, sarcoma, breast cancer, leukemia, colorectal cancer, colon cancer, head cancer, neck cancer, endometrial and kidney cancer. In another aspect, the cancer is selected from the group consisting of small cell lung cancer, breast cancer, acute leukemia, chronic leukemia, colorectal cancer, colon cancer, brain cancer, carcinoma, ovarian cancer, or endometrial cancer, carcinoid tumors, metastatic colorectal cancer, islet cell carcinoma, metastatic renal cell carcinoma, adenocarcinomas, glioblastoma multiforme, bronchoalveolar lung cancers, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, neuroendocrine tumors, and neuroblastoma. In another aspect, the cancer is ovarian, colon, colorectal or endometrial cancer. In another aspect, the compound comprises a compound of Formula I:

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and/or a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt, hydrate, solvate, tautomer, optical isomer, or combination thereof;

wherein:

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wherein X₁to X₆are each independently selected from carbon or a heteroatom; or

R₁₂is selected from H or a hydrocarbyl group;

Y is selected from a heteroatom or a carbon atom;

n is an integer.

In another aspect, there is provided a method of treating a cancer in a mammal in need thereof comprising simultaneously or sequentially administering an anti-cancer agent in combination with a therapeutically effective amount of a compound comprising a compound of Formula I:

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and/or a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt, hydrate, solvate, tautomer, optical isomer, or combination thereof;

wherein:

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wherein X₁to X₆are each independently selected from carbon or a heteroatom; or

R₁₂is selected from H or a hydrocarbyl group;

Y is selected from a heteroatom or a carbon atom;

n is an integer;

the combination providing a synergistic therapeutic effect as compared to sole administration of either the anti-cancer agent or the compound.

With respect to the above aspects, in another aspect, the cancer is selected from the group consisting of lung cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, cancer of CNS, skin cancer, prostate cancer, sarcoma, breast cancer, leukemia, colorectal cancer, colon cancer, head cancer, neck cancer, endometrial and kidney cancer. In another aspect, the cancer is selected from the group consisting of small cell lung cancer, breast cancer, acute leukemia, chronic leukemia, colorectal cancer, colon cancer, brain cancer, carcinoma, ovarian cancer, or endometrial cancer, carcinoid tumors, metastatic colorectal cancer, islet cell carcinoma, metastatic renal cell carcinoma, adenocarcinomas, glioblastoma multiforme, bronchoalveolar lung cancers, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, neuroendocrine tumors, and neuroblastoma. In another aspect, the cancer is ovarian, colon, colorectal or endometrial cancer. In another aspect, there is provided a method of treating endometrial cancer in a mammal in need thereof comprising administering a therapeutically effective amount of a compound comprising a compound of Formula I:

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and/or a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt, hydrate, solvate, tautomer, optical isomer, or combination thereof;

wherein:

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wherein X₁to X₆are each independently selected from carbon or a heteroatom; or

R₁₂is selected from H or a hydrocarbyl group;

Y is selected from a heteroatom or a carbon atom;

n is an integer.

With respect to the above aspects, in another aspect, the cancer is characterized by a KRAS mutation. In another aspect, the cancer is characterized by an EGFR mutation.

In another aspect, there is provided a method of treating a cancer in a mammal in need thereof characterized by over-expression of RAS, by an EGFR mutation, and/or by over-expression of AKT2, comprising administering a therapeutically effective amount of a compound comprising a compound of Formula I:

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and/or a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt, hydrate, solvate, tautomer, optical isomer, or combination thereof;

wherein:

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wherein X₁to X₆are each independently selected from carbon or a heteroatom; or

R₁₂is selected from H or a hydrocarbyl group;

Y is selected from a heteroatom or a carbon atom;

n is an integer.

With respect to the above aspects, in another aspect, the cancer is characterized by a KRAS mutation. In another aspect, the cancer is selected from the group consisting of leukemia, colon cancer, colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, lung cancer, multiple myeloma, endometrial cancer, and ovarian cancer. In another aspect, the cancer is colorectal cancer. In another aspect, the cancer is characterized by an EGFR mutation. In another aspect, the cancer is selected from the group consisting of lung cancer, glioblastoma, colon cancer, gastric cancer, renal cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and ovarian cancer. In another aspect, the cancer is non-small cell lung cancer. In another aspect, the cancer is characterized by over-expression of AKT2. In another aspect, the cancer is selected from the group consisting of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, colon cancer, pancreatic cancer, glioma, glioblastoma, lung cancer, and prostate cancer. In another aspect, the cancer is treatable by inhibition of mTOR. In another aspect, the method further comprises simultaneously or sequentially administering an anti-cancer agent in combination with the compound. In another aspect, the combination produces a synergistic therapeutic effect as compared to sole administration of either the anti-cancer agent or the compound. In another aspect, the anti-cancer agent is an mTOR-Raptor complex inhibitor. In another aspect, the anticancer agent is a cytotoxic agent. In another aspect, the synergistic effect is reduction or prevention of resistance to the cytotoxic agent. In another aspect, the anti-cancer agent is selected from the group consisting of cisplatin, rapamycin, tecrolimus, temsirolimus, paclitaxel, erlotinib, cetuximab and doxorubicin. In another aspect, the dose of the anti-cancer agent is selected to lower overall toxicity as compared to administration of the anti-cancer agent alone in an amount sufficient to achieve substantially the same treatment effect on cancerous cells. In another aspect, the dose of at least one of the anti-cancer agent or the compound is selected to increase the overall treatment effect on cancerous cells as compared to administration of the anti-cancer agent alone in an amount producing substantially the same toxicity. In another aspect, the anti-cancer agent is administered at a sub-therapeutic dose without substantially reducing the efficacy of the cancer treatment. In another aspect, the dose of the compound is less than the dose of the anti-cancer agent. In another aspect, the dose of the compound is at most about 80%, about 50%, about 40%, about 30%, about 20%, about 10%, about 5%, about 3%, about 2%, about 1%, about 0.75%, about 0.5%, about 0.25%, or about 0.1% of the dose of the anti-cancer agent. In another aspect, the first ring system is a substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic group, the second ring system is a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted carbocyclic group, or a substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic group. In another aspect, the substituted or unsubstituted polycyclic ring further comprises a third ring system fused to the first ring system. In another aspect, the third ring system is a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted carbocyclic group, or a substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic group. In another aspect, n is 0. In another aspect, n is 1 and A is a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic group. In another aspect, A is a pyridinyl group. In another aspect, Y is a nitrogen atom. In another aspect, R₇is a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group or a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic group and R₃to R₆and R₈to R₁₂are each independently selected from H or a substituted or unsubstituted hydrocarbon group. In another aspect, R₇is the substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group or a substituted or unsubstituted pyridyl group and R₃to R₆and R₈to R₁₂are each H. In another aspect, the compound is selected from:

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and/or a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt, hydrate, solvate or combination thereof. In another aspect, the compound of Formula I is:

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and/or a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt, hydrate, solvate or combination thereof. In another aspect, the compound of Formula I is:

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and/or a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt, hydrate, solvate or combination thereof. In another aspect, the compound is a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt of Formula I. In another aspect, the salt is an oxalate or tartrate.

In another aspect, there is provided use of an anti-cancer agent in combination with a therapeutically effective amount of a compound that is an mTOR-Rictor complex inhibitor, a Serine 473 phosphorylation inhibitor, an AKT2 inhibitor, or a combination thereof for treating a cancer in a mammal in need thereof, wherein the combination provides a synergistic therapeutic effect as compared to sole administration of either the anti-cancer agent or the compound.

In another aspect, there is provided use of an anti-cancer agent in combination with a therapeutically effective amount of a compound that is an mTOR-Rictor complex inhibitor, a Serine 473 phosphorylation inhibitor, an AKT2 inhibitor, or a combination thereof in the manufacture of a medicament for treating a cancer in a mammal in need thereof, wherein the combination provides a synergistic therapeutic effect as compared to sole administration of either the anti-cancer agent or the compound.

With respect to the above aspects, in another aspect, the cancer is treatable by inhibition of mTOR. In another aspect, the anti-cancer agent is an mTOR-Raptor complex inhibitor. In another aspect, the anticancer agent is a cytotoxic agent. In another aspect, the synergistic effect is reduction or prevention of resistance to the cytotoxic agent. In another aspect, the anti-cancer agent is selected from the group consisting of cisplatin, rapamycin, tecrolimus, temsirolimus, paclitaxel, erlotinib, cetuximab and doxorubicin. In another aspect, the dose of the anti-cancer agent is selected to lower overall toxicity as compared to administration of the anti-cancer agent alone in an amount sufficient to achieve substantially the same treatment effect on cancerous cells. In another aspect, the dose of at least one of the anti-cancer agent or the compound is selected to increase the overall treatment effect on cancerous cells as compared to administration of the anti-cancer agent alone in an amount producing substantially the same toxicity. In another aspect, the anti-cancer agent is administered at a sub-therapeutic dose without substantially reducing the efficacy of the cancer treatment. In another aspect, the dose of the compound is less than the dose of the anti-cancer agent. In another aspect, the dose of the compound is at most about 80%, about 50%, about 40%, about 30%, about 20%, about 10%, about 5%, about 3%, about 2%, about 1%, about 0.75%, about 0.5%, about 0.25%, or about 0.1% of the dose of the anti-cancer agent. In another aspect, the compound is an mTOR-Rictor complex inhibitor. In another aspect, the cancer is selected from the group consisting of lung cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, cancer of CNS, skin cancer, prostate cancer, sarcoma, breast cancer, leukemia, colorectal cancer, colon cancer, head cancer, neck cancer, endometrial and kidney cancer. In another aspect, the cancer is selected from the group consisting of small cell lung cancer, breast cancer, acute leukemia, chronic leukemia, colorectal cancer, colon cancer, brain cancer, carcinoma, ovarian cancer, or endometrial cancer, carcinoid tumors, metastatic; colorectal cancer, islet cell carcinoma, metastatic renal cell carcinoma, adenocarcinomas, glioblastoma multiforme, bronchoalveolar lung cancers, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, neuroendocrine tumors, and neuroblastoma. In another aspect, the cancer is ovarian, colon, colorectal or endometrial cancer. In another aspect, the compound comprises a compound of Formula I:

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and/or a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt, hydrate, solvate, tautomer, optical isomer, or combination thereof;

wherein:

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wherein X₁to X₆are each independently selected from carbon or a heteroatom; or

R₁₂is selected from H or a hydrocarbyl group;

Y is selected from a heteroatom or a carbon atom;

n is an integer.

In another aspect, there is provided use of an anti-cancer agent in combination with a therapeutically effective amount of a compound comprising a compound of Formula I:

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and/or a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt, hydrate, solvate, tautomer, optical isomer, or combination thereof;

wherein:

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wherein X₁to X₆are each independently selected from carbon or a heteroatom; or

R₁₂is selected from H or a hydrocarbyl group;

Y is selected from a heteroatom or a carbon atom;

n is an integer;

for treating a cancer in a mammal in need thereof, wherein the combination provides a synergistic therapeutic effect as compared to sole administration of either the anti-cancer agent or the compound.

In another aspect, there is provided use of an anti-cancer agent in combination with a therapeutically effective amount of a compound comprising a compound of Formula I:

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and/or a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt, hydrate, solvate, tautomer, optical isomer, or combination thereof;

wherein:

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wherein X₁to X₆are each independently selected from carbon or a heteroatom; or

R₁₂is selected from H or a hydrocarbyl group;

Y is selected from a heteroatom or a carbon atom;

n is an integer;

in the manufacture of a medicament for treating a cancer in a mammal in need thereof, wherein the combination provides a synergistic therapeutic effect as compared to sole administration of either the anti-cancer agent or the compound.

In another aspect, there is provided use of a therapeutically effective amount of a compound comprising a compound of Formula I:

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and/or a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt, hydrate, solvate, tautomer, optical isomer, or combination thereof;

wherein:

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wherein X₁to X₆are each independently selected from carbon or a heteroatom; or

R₁₂is selected from H or a hydrocarbyl group;

Y is selected from a heteroatom or a carbon atom;

n is an integer,

for treating endometrial cancer in a mammal in need thereof.

In another aspect, there is provided use of a therapeutically effective amount of a compound comprising a compound of Formula I:

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and/or a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt, hydrate, solvate, tautomer, optical isomer, or combination thereof;

wherein:

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wherein X₁to X₆are each independently selected from carbon or a heteroatom; or

R₁₂is selected from H or a hydrocarbyl group;

Y is selected from a heteroatom or a carbon atom;

n is an integer,

in the manufacture of a medicament for treating endometrial cancer in a mammal in need thereof.

With respect to the above aspects, in another aspect, the cancer is characterized by a KRAS mutation. In another aspect, the cancer is characterized by an EGFR mutation.

In another aspect, there is provided use of a therapeutically effective amount of a compound comprising a compound of Formula I:

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and/or a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt, hydrate, solvate, tautomer, optical isomer, or combination thereof;

wherein:

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wherein X₁to X₆are each independently selected from carbon or a heteroatom; or

R₁₂is selected from H or a hydrocarbyl group;

Y is selected from a heteroatom or a carbon atom;

n is an integer,

for treating a cancer in a mammal in need thereof, the cancer characterized by over-expression of RAS, by an EGFR mutation, and/or by over-expression of AKT2.

In another aspect, there is provided use of a therapeutically effective amount of a compound comprising a compound of Formula I:

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and/or a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt, hydrate, solvate, tautomer, optical isomer, or combination thereof;

wherein:

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wherein X₁to X₆are each independently selected from carbon or a heteroatom; or

R₁₂is selected from H or a hydrocarbyl group;

Y is selected from a heteroatom or a carbon atom;

n is an integer,

in the manufacture of a medicament for treating a cancer in a mammal in need thereof, the cancer characterized by over-expression of RAS, by an EGFR mutation, and/or by over-expression of AKT2.

With respect to the above aspects, in another aspect, the cancer is characterized by a KRAS mutation. In another aspect, the cancer is selected from the group consisting of leukemia, colon cancer, colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, lung cancer, multiple myeloma, endometrial cancer, and ovarian cancer. In another aspect, the cancer is colorectal cancer. In another aspect, the cancer is characterized by an EGFR mutation. In another aspect, the cancer is selected from the group consisting of lung cancer, glioblastoma, colon cancer, gastric cancer, renal cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and ovarian cancer. In another aspect, the cancer is non-small cell lung cancer. In another aspect, the cancer is characterized by over-expression of AKT2. In another aspect, the cancer is selected from the group consisting of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, colon cancer, pancreatic cancer, glioma, glioblastoma, lung cancer, and prostate cancer. In another aspect, the cancer is treatable by inhibition of mTOR. In another aspect, the use further comprises an anti-cancer agent in combination with the compound. In another aspect, the combination produces a synergistic therapeutic effect as compared to sole administration of either the anti-cancer agent or the compound. In another aspect, the anti-cancer agent is an mTOR-Raptor complex inhibitor. In another aspect, the anticancer agent is a cytotoxic agent. In another aspect, the synergistic effect is reduction or prevention of resistance to the cytotoxic agent. In another aspect, the anti-cancer agent is selected from the group consisting of cisplatin, rapamycin, tecrolimus, temsirolimus, paclitaxel, erlotinib, cetuximab and doxorubicin. In another aspect, the amount of the anti-cancer agent is selected to lower overall toxicity as compared to administration of the anti-cancer agent alone in an amount sufficient to achieve substantially the same treatment effect on cancerous cells. In another aspect, the amount of at least one of the anti-cancer agent or the compound is selected to increase the overall treatment effect on cancerous cells as compared to administration of the anti-cancer agent alone in an amount producing substantially the same toxicity. In another aspect, the anti-cancer agent is present at a sub-therapeutic amount without substantially reducing the efficacy of the cancer treatment. In another aspect, the amount of the compound is less than the amount of the anti-cancer agent. In another aspect, the amount of the compound is at most about 80%, about 50%, about 40%, about 30%, about 20%, about 10%, about 5%, about 3%, about 2%, about 1%, about 0.75%, about 0.5%, about 0.25%, or about 0.1% of the amount of the anti-cancer agent. In another aspect, the first ring system is a substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic group, the second ring system is a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted carbocyclic group, or a substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic group. In another aspect, the substituted or unsubstituted polycyclic ring further comprises a third ring system fused to the first ring system. In another aspect, the third ring system is a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted carbocyclic group, or a substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic group. In another aspect, n is 0. In another aspect, n is 1 and A is a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic group. In another aspect, A is a pyridinyl group. In another aspect, Y is a nitrogen atom. In another aspect, R₇is a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group or a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic group and R₃to R₆and R₈to R₁₂are each independently selected from H or a substituted or unsubstituted hydrocarbon group. In another aspect, R₇is the substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group or a substituted or unsubstituted pyridyl group and R₃to R₆and R₈to R₁₂are each H. In another aspect, the compound is selected from:

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and/or a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt, hydrate, solvate or combination thereof. In another aspect, the compound of Formula I is:

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and/or a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt, hydrate, solvate or combination thereof. In another aspect, the compound of Formula I is:

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and/or a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt, hydrate, solvate or combination thereof. In another aspect, the compound is a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt of Formula I. In another aspect, the salt is an oxalate or tartrate.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and the specific examples while indicating embodiments of the invention are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the attached Figures.

FIG. 1 shows the volume of SHP77 human SCLC tumour in nude mice treated with test compounds;

FIG. 2 shows number of SHP77 human SCLC tumours in nude mice treated with test compounds;

FIG. 3 shows the volume of N417 human SCLC tumour in nude mice treated with COTI-2 and control;

FIG. 4 shows lack of emerging resistance in DMS153 cells treated with COTI-2 and COTI-219;

FIG. 5 shows lack of emerging resistance in SHP77 cells treated with COTI-2 and COTI-219;

FIGS. 6A and 6B show volume of U87 human glioma tumours in nude mice treated with two different concentrations of COTI-2;

FIG. 7 shows Western blot analysis of cellular lysates of SHP77 cells that have been treated with COTI-2;

FIG. 8 shows inhibition of AKT kinase activity by COTI-2;

FIG. 9 shows a time course of AKT expression following incubation with COTI-2;

FIG. 10 shows a percent change and direction of differentially expressed genes;

FIG. 11A-11C show expression levels of AKT1 (FIG. 11A), AKT2 (FIG. 11B), and mTOR-Rictor (FIG. 11C) in DMS114 and SHP77 cell lines following incubation for 6 h in the presence (150 or 300 nM) or absence of COTI-2;

FIG. 12 shows PIPS levels in DMS114 and SHP77 cells following incubation with 250 nM COTI-2 alone, 250 nM COTI-2+LY294002, or DMSO (solvent) alone;

FIG. 13 shows an effect of various concentrations of COTI-2 relative to control (DMSO) on total mTOR, mTOR phospho-Ser2448, mTOR phospho-Ser2481, and Akt phospho-Thr308 levels, β actin levels act as positive controls for the experiment;

FIG. 14 shows that temsirolimus and rapamycin both inhibit proliferation of human U87 glioblastoma cells, as single agents;

FIG. 15 shows that COTI-219, in combination with temsirolimus, had a greater-than-additive inhibitory effect on proliferation of U87 glioblastoma cells;

FIG. 16 shows that COTI-219, in combination with rapamycin, had a greater-than-additive inhibitory effect on proliferation of U87 glioblastoma cells;

FIG. 17 shows that COTI-2, in combination with temsirolimus, had a greater-than-additive inhibitory effect on proliferation of U87 glioblastoma cells;

FIG. 18 shows that COTI-2, in combination with rapamycin, had a greater-than-additive inhibitory effect on proliferation of U87 glioblastoma cells;

FIG. 19 shows SHP 77 cells treated with Taxol™ or with Taxol™ plus COTI-2;

FIG. 20 shows DMS114 cells treated with Taxol™ or with Taxol™ plus COTI-2;

FIG. 21 shows DMS114 cells treated with cisplatin (CDDP) or with CDDP plus COTI-2;

FIG. 22 shows SHP 77 cells treated with cisplatin (CDDP) or with CDDP plus COTI-2;

FIG. 23 shows SHP 77 cells treated with carboplatin or with carboplatin plus COTI-2;

FIG. 24 shows DMS114 cells treated with carboplatin or with carboplatin plus COTI-2;

FIG. 25 shows SHP 77 cells treated with gemcitabine alone or with gemcitabine plus COTI-2;

FIG. 26 shows DMS114 cells treated with gemcitabine alone or with gemcitabine plus COTI-2;

FIG. 27 shows SHP 77 cells treated with vinorelbine alone or with vinorelbine plus COTI-2;

FIG. 28 shows DMS114 cells treated with vinorelbine alone or with vinorelbine plus COTI-2;

FIGS. 29A-C show greater-than-additive effects of COTI-2 in combination with Tarceva in HCT-15 (FIG. 29A), COLO-205 (FIG. 29B), and SW620 (FIG. 29C) cells;

FIGS. 30A-C show greater-than-additive effects of COTI-2 in combination with Erbitux® in HCT-15 (FIG. 30A), COLO-205 (FIG. 30B), and SW620 cells (FIG. 30C);

FIGS. 31A-C show greater-than-additive effects of COTI-219 in combination with Tarceva® in HCT-15 (FIG. 31A), COLO-205 (FIG. 31B), and SW620 cells (FIG. 31C);

FIGS. 32A-C show greater-than-additive effects of COTI-219 in combination with Erbitux® in HCT-15 (FIG. 32A), COLO-205 (FIG. 32B), and SW620 cells (FIG. 32C);

FIG. 33 shows the correlation between AKT isoforms (1, 2, & 3) expression and COTI-2 IC50, lane numbers represent the ratios of AKT isoform expression relative to β-actin expression, and R values represent the correlation between normalized AKT levels and IC50 values;

FIG. 34 shows an effect of AKT/AKT2 siRNA on COTI-2 induced apoptosis in DMS114 SCLC cells, the asterisk (*) indicates statistical significance (p<0.05);

FIG. 35 shows the total AKT and AKT2 expression levels in DMS114 cells incubated with 0-100 ng AKT2 siRNA;

FIG. 36 shows the percent viability of SHP77 cells transfected with scrambled, total AKT, or AKT2 siRNA and in the presence/absence of various concentrations COTI-2, the asterisk (*) indicates statistical significance (p<0.05);

FIG. 37 shows the percent viability of SHP77 cells in the presence of scrambled, total AKT, or AKT2 siRNA, the asterisk (*) indicates statistical significance (p<0.05);

FIG. 38 shows the levels of phosphorylation of AKT at Ser473 site and GSK-3α/β at Ser21/9 site in the presence of 250 nM COTI-2 at 0, 2, 4, 8, and 16 h post-incubation, the levels of phospho-Ser473 of AKT were confirmed with antibodies from 2 providers, Cell Signaling and Abcam;

FIG. 39 shows the time-course of COTI-2 effect on AKT pSer473 in two SCLC cell lines, DMS114 and SHP77;

FIG. 40 shows changes in AKT phospho-protein targets, total protein lysates were obtained at different time points following incubation with 300 nM of COTI-2, following SDS-PAGE separation of 50 μg of protein the blots were probed with the indicated antibodies;

FIGS. 41A and 41B show mTor pSer2481 and AKT pSer473 in DMS114, the blots shown in FIG. 37 were scanned and quantitated with ImageJ software, and phospho-protein expression was corrected to total mTOR levels;

FIGS. 42A and 42B show mTOR pSer2448/pSer2481 in SHP77 cells, the blots shown in FIG. 40 were scanned and quantitated with ImageJ software, and phospho-protein expression was corrected to total mTOR levels;

FIGS. 43A and 43B show down-regulation of FOXO transcription factors, phospho-FOXO1 and phosphor-FOXO3a levels were measured by densitometry analysis and corrected for total protein levels, as described in the legend to FIG. 42;

FIG. 44 shows a western blot analysis of PTEN in HeLa cells tranfected with PTEN targeted siRNA (+) and non-targeted siRNA (−);

FIGS. 45A and 45B shows reverse transcription PCR of HeLa (FIG. 45A) and MCF-7 cells (FIG. 45B) transfected with 100 nM targeted PTEN siRNA or non-targeted siRNA, cells were evaluated at 0, 24, 48, and 144 h post-transfection;

FIGS. 46A & 46B show the effect of knockdown of PTEN mRNA with PTEN siRNA on HeLa (FIG. 46A) and MCF-7 (FIG. 46B) cell sensitivity to COTI-2;

FIG. 47 shows sensitivity of human tumor cell lines (H226 & HL-60) and primary human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) to COTI2-M05, data are represented as the mean of 5 measurements±standard error and the asterisk (*) indicates a significant difference from controls (p<0.05);

FIG. 48 shows representative western blot analysis of DMS114 and SHP77 cells transfected with gene-specific siRNA or scrambled control oligonucleotide for 48 h;

FIGS. 49A-B show determination of apoptosis following target knock-down with gene-specific or scrambled (sc) siRNA in the absence or presence of 500 nM COTI-219 in DMS114 (FIG. 50A) and SHP77 (FIG. 49B) cells; Asterisks (*) denote significant differences (p<0.01) between control and COTI-219 treated cells;

FIG. 50 shows apoptotic cascade activation by COTI-219 as determined by relative expression of cleaved caspase 3 and 9 using western blot analysis following 12 h incubation with various concentrations of COTI-219;

FIGS. 51A and 51B show cell cycle analysis of DMS114 cells by FACS following incubation for 24 h with indicated concentrations of COTI-219; duplicate experiments are shown; M1, Go/G1; M2, S/G; and

FIGS. 52A-B show a semi-log plot of the mean plasma concentration versus time following oral (FIG. 52A) and IV dosing (FIG. 52B).

FIG. 53 shows the effect of treatment on tumor weight. Tumor weights were graphed as means (±SEM). The plus sign (+) indicates a statistically significant difference in tumor weight of the vehicle only group compared to each of the combination & single agents on the same day (P<0.05). The asterix (*) indicates a statistically significant difference in tumor weight of the paclitaxel (Taxol®) only group compared to the COTI-2 and paclitaxel (Taxol®) combination agent groups on the same day (P<0.05). Statistical significance was determined using a Student's T test.

FIG. 54 shows the effect of treatment on tumor weight. Tumor weights are graphed as means (±SE). The asterix (*) indicates a statistically significant difference in tumor weight of COTI-2 and Doxil® combination agent groups relative to the vehicle only control group on the same day (P<0.05). The plus sign (+) indicates statistically significant difference in tumor weight of the Doxil® single agent group versus the vehicle only control group on the same day (P<0.05). Statistical significance was determined using a Student's T test.

FIG. 55 shows the effect of treatment on tumor weight. Tumor weights are graphed as means (±SE). The asterix (*) indicates a statistically significant difference in tumor weight of the COTI-2 (25 mg/kg) and Erbitux® (1 mg/dose) combination agent group relative to the vehicle only control group on the same day (P<0.05). The plus sign (+) indicates a statistically significant difference in tumor weight of the COTI-2 (12.5 mg/kg) and Erbitux® (1 mg/dose) combination agent group versus the vehicle only control group on the same day (P<0.05). Statistical significance was determined using a Student's T test.

FIG. 56 shows the effect of treatment on tumor weight. Tumor weights are graphed as means (±SE). Statistical significance was determined using a Student's T test.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
Definitions

When describing the compounds, compositions, methods and uses of this invention, the following terms have the following meanings, unless otherwise indicated.

The term “therapeutically effective amount” as used herein means that amount of active compound or pharmaceutical agent that elicits the biological or medicinal response in a tissue, system, animal or human that is being sought by a researcher, veterinarian, medical doctor or other clinician.

The compounds of the present invention may have asymmetric centers, chiral axes, and chiral planes (as described, for example, in: E. L. Eliel and S. H. Wilen, Stereo-chemistry of Carbon Compounds, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1994, pages 1119-1190), and occur as racemates, racemic mixtures, and as individual diastereomers, with all possible isomers and mixtures thereof, including optical isomers, being included in the present invention. In addition, the compounds disclosed herein may exist as tautomers and both tautomeric forms are intended to be encompassed by the scope of the invention, even though only one tautomeric structure may be depicted.

Generally, reference to a certain element such as hydrogen or H is meant to, if appropriate, include all isotopes of that element.

Where the term “alkyl group” is used, either alone or within other terms such as “haloalkyl group” and “alkylamino group”, it encompasses linear or branched carbon radicals having, for example, one to about twenty carbon atoms or, in specific embodiments, one to about twelve carbon atoms. In other embodiments, alkyl groups are “lower alkyl” groups having one to about six carbon atoms. Examples of such groups include, but are not limited thereto, methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, isopropyl, n-butyl, isobutyl, sec-butyl, tert-butyl, pentyl, iso-amyl, hexyl and the like. In more specific embodiments, lower alkyl groups have one to four carbon atoms.

The term “alkenyl group” encompasses linear or branched carbon radicals having at least one carbon-carbon double bond. The term “alkenyl group” can encompass conjugated and non-conjugated carbon-carbon double bonds or combinations thereof. An alkenyl group, for example and without being limited thereto, can encompass two to about twenty carbon atoms or, in a particular embodiment, two to about twelve carbon atoms. In embodiments, alkenyl groups are “lower alkenyl” groups having two to about four carbon atoms. Examples of alkenyl groups include, but are not limited thereto, ethenyl, propenyl, allyl, propenyl, butenyl and 4-methylbutenyl. The terms “alkenyl group” and “lower alkenyl group”, encompass groups having “cis” and “trans” orientations, or alternatively, “E” and “Z” orientations.

The term “alkynyl group” denotes linear or branched carbon radicals having at least one carbon-carbon triple bond. The term “alkynyl group” can encompass conjugated and non-conjugated carbon-carbon triple bonds or combinations thereof. Alkynyl group, for example and without being limited thereto, can encompass two to about twenty carbon atoms or, in a particular embodiment, two to about twelve carbon atoms. In embodiments, alkynyl groups are “lower alkynyl” groups having two to about ten carbon atoms. Some examples are lower alkynyl groups having two to about four carbon atoms. Examples of such groups include propargyl, butynyl, and the like.

The term “halo” means halogens such as fluorine, chlorine, bromine or iodine atoms.

The term “haloalkyl group” encompasses groups wherein any one or more of the alkyl carbon atoms is substituted with halo as defined above. Specifically encompassed are monohaloalkyl, dihaloalkyl and polyhaloalkyl groups including perhaloalkyl. A monohaloalkyl group, for one example, may have either an iodo, bromo, chloro or fluoro atom within the group. Dihalo and polyhaloalkyl groups may have two or more of the same halo atoms or a combination of different halo groups. “Lower haloalkyl group” encompasses groups having 1-6 carbon atoms. In some embodiments, lower haloalkyl groups have one to three carbon atoms. Examples of haloalkyl groups include fluoromethyl, difluoromethyl, trifluoromethyl, chloromethyl, dichloromethyl, trichloromethyl, pentafluoroethyl, heptafluoropropyl, difluorochloromethyl, dichlorofluoromethyl, difluoroethyl, difluoropropyl, dichloroethyl and dichloropropyl.

The term “hydroxyalkyl group” encompasses linear or branched alkyl groups having, for example and without being limited thereto, one to about ten carbon atoms, any one of which may be substituted with one or more hydroxyl groups. In embodiments, hydroxyalkyl groups are “lower hydroxyalkyl” groups having one to six carbon atoms and one or more hydroxyl groups. Examples of such groups include hydroxymethyl, hydroxyethyl, hydroxypropyl, hydroxybutyl and hydroxyhexyl.

The term “alkoxy group” encompasses linear or branched oxy-containing groups each having alkyl portions of, for example and without being limited thereto, one to about ten carbon atoms. In embodiments, alkoxy groups are “lower alkoxy” groups having one to six carbon atoms. Examples of such groups include methoxy, ethoxy, propoxy, butoxy and tert-butoxy. In certain embodiments, lower alkoxy groups have one to three carbon atoms. The “alkoxy” groups may be further substituted with one or more halo atoms, such as fluoro, chloro or bromo, to provide “haloalkoxy” groups. In other embodiments, lower haloalkoxy groups have one to three carbon atoms. Examples of such groups include fluoromethoxy, chloromethoxy, trifluoromethoxy, trifluoroethoxy, fluoroethoxy, and fluoropropoxy.

The term “aromatic group” or “aryl group” means an aromatic group having one or more rings wherein such rings may be attached together in a pendent manner or may be fused. In particular embodiments, an aromatic group is one, two or three rings. Monocyclic aromatic groups may contain 4 to 10 carbon atoms, typically 4 to 7 carbon atoms, and more typically 4 to 6 carbon atoms in the ring. Typical polycyclic aromatic groups have two or three rings. Polycyclic aromatic groups having two rings typically have 8 to 12 carbon atoms, preferably 8 to 10 carbon atoms in the rings. Examples of aromatic groups include, but are not limited to, phenyl, naphthyl, tetrahydronaphthyl, indanyl, biphenyl, phenanthryl, anthryl or acenaphthyl.

The term “heteroatom” means an atom other than carbon. Typically, heteroatoms are selected from the group consisting of sulfur, phosphorous, nitrogen and oxygen atoms. Groups containing more than one heteroatom may contain different heteroatoms.

The term “heteroaromatic group” or “heteroaryl group” means an aromatic group having one or more rings wherein such rings may be attached together in a pendent manner or may be fused, wherein the aromatic group has at least one heteroatom. Monocyclic heteroaromatic groups may contain 4 to 10 member atoms, typically 4 to 7 member atoms, and more typically 4 to 6 member atoms in the ring. Typical polycyclic heteroaromatic groups have two or three rings. Polycyclic aromatic groups having two rings typically have 8 to 12 member atoms, more typically 8 to 10 member atoms in the rings. Examples of heteroaromatic groups include, but are not limited thereto, pyrrole, imidazole, thiazole, oxazole, furan, thiophene, triazole, pyrazole, isoxazole, isothiazole, pyridine, pyrazine, pyridazine, pyrimidine, triazine, indole, benzofuran, benzothiophene, benzimidazole, benzthiazole, quinoline, isoquinoline, quinazoline, quinoxaline and the like.

The term “carbocyclic group” means a saturated or unsaturated carbocyclic hydrocarbon ring. Carbocyclic groups are not aromatic. Carbocyclic groups are monocyclic or polycyclic. Polycyclic carbocyclic groups can be fused, spiro, or bridged ring systems. Monocyclic carbocyclic groups may contain 4 to 10 carbon atoms, typically 4 to 7 carbon atoms, and more typically 5 to 6 carbon atoms in the ring. Bicyclic carbocyclic groups may contain 8 to 12 carbon atoms, typically 9 to 10 carbon atoms in the rings.

The term “heterocyclic group” means a saturated or unsaturated ring structure containing carbon atoms and 1 or more heteroatoms in the ring. Heterocyclic groups are not aromatic. Heterocyclic groups are monocyclic or polycyclic. Polycyclic heterocyclic groups can be fused, spiro, or bridged ring systems. Monocyclic heterocyclic groups may contain 4 to 10 member atoms (i.e., including both carbon atoms and at least 1 heteroatom), typically 4 to 7, and more typically 5 to 6 in the ring. Bicyclic heterocyclic groups may contain 8 to 18 member atoms, typically 9 or 10 member atoms in the rings. Representative heterocyclic groups include, by way of example, pyrrolidine, imidazolidine, pyrazolidine, piperidine, 1,4-dioxane, morpholine, thiomorpholine, piperazine, 3-pyrroline and the like.

The term “heterogeneous group” means a saturated or unsaturated chain of non-hydrogen member atoms comprising carbon atoms and at least one heteroatom. Heterogeneous groups typically have 1 to 25 member atoms. More typically, the chain contains 1 to 12 member atoms, 1 to 10, and most typically 1 to 6. The chain may be linear or branched. Typical branched heterogeneous groups have one or two branches, more typically one branch. Typically, heterogeneous groups are saturated. Unsaturated heterogeneous groups may have one or more double bonds, one or more triple bonds, or both. Typical unsaturated heterogeneous groups have one or two double bonds or one triple bond. More typically, the unsaturated heterogeneous group has one double bond.

The term “hydrocarbon group” or “hydrocarbyl group” means a chain of 1 to 25 carbon atoms, typically 1 to 12 carbon atoms, more typically 1 to 10 carbon atoms, and most typically 1 to 8 carbon atoms. Hydrocarbon groups may have a linear or branched chain structure. Typical hydrocarbon groups have one or two branches, typically one branch. Typically, hydrocarbon groups are saturated. Unsaturated hydrocarbon groups may have one or more double bonds, one or more triple bonds, or combinations thereof. Typical unsaturated hydrocarbon groups have one or two double bonds or one triple bond; more typically unsaturated hydrocarbon groups have one double bond.

When the term “unsaturated” is used in conjunction with any group, the group may be fully unsaturated or partially unsaturated. However, when the term “unsaturated” is used in conjunction with a specific group defined herein, the term maintains the limitations of that specific group. For example, an unsaturated “carbocyclic group”, based on the limitations of the “carbocyclic group” as defined herein, does not encompass an aromatic group.

The terms “carboxy group” or “carboxyl group”, whether used alone or with other terms, such as “carboxyalkyl group”, denotes —(C═O)—O—.

The term “carbonyl group”, whether used alone or with other terms, such as “aminocarbonyl group”, denotes —(C═O)—.

The terms “alkylcarbonyl group” denotes carbonyl groups which have been substituted with an alkyl group. In certain embodiments, “lower alkylcarbonyl group” has lower alkyl group as described above attached to a carbonyl group.

The term “aminoalkyl group” encompasses linear or branched alkyl groups having one to about ten carbon atoms any one of which may be substituted with one or more amino groups. In some embodiments, the aminoalkyl groups are “lower aminoalkyl” groups having one to six carbon atoms and one or more amino groups. Examples of such groups include aminomethyl, aminoethyl, aminopropyl, aminobutyl and aminohexyl.

The term “alkylaminoalkyl group” encompasses aminoalkyl groups having the nitrogen atom independently substituted with an alkyl group. In certain embodiments, the alkylaminoalkyl groups are “loweralkylaminoalkyl” groups having alkyl groups of one to six carbon atoms. In other embodiments, the lower alkylaminoalkyl groups have alkyl groups of one to three carbon atoms. Suitable alkylaminoalkyl groups may be mono or dialkyl substituted, such as N-methylaminomethyl, N,N-dimethyl-aminoethyl, N,N-diethylaminomethyl and the like.

The term “aralkyl group” encompasses aryl-substituted alkyl groups. In embodiments, the aralkyl groups are “lower aralkyl” groups having aryl groups attached to alkyl groups having one to six carbon atoms. In other embodiments, the lower aralkyl groups phenyl is attached to alkyl portions having one to three carbon atoms. Examples of such groups include benzyl, diphenylmethyl and phenylethyl. The aryl in said aralkyl may be additionally substituted with halo, alkyl, alkoxy, haloalkyl and haloalkoxy.

The term “arylalkenyl group” encompasses aryl-substituted alkenyl groups. In embodiments, the arylalkenyl groups are “lower arylalkenyl” groups having aryl groups attached to alkenyl groups having two to six carbon atoms. Examples of such groups include phenylethenyl. The aryl in said arylalkenyl may be additionally substituted with halo, alkyl, alkoxy, haloalkyl and haloalkoxy.

The term “arylalkynyl group” encompasses aryl-substituted alkynyl groups. In embodiments, arylalkynyl groups are “lower arylalkynyl” groups having aryl groups attached to alkynyl groups having two to six carbon atoms. Examples of such groups include phenylethynyl. The aryl in said aralkyl may be additionally substituted with halo, alkyl, alkoxy, haloalkyl and haloalkoxy. The terms benzyl and phenylmethyl are interchangeable.

The term “alkylthio group” encompasses groups containing a linear or branched alkyl group, of one to ten carbon atoms, attached to a divalent sulfur atom. In certain embodiments, the lower alkylthio groups have one to three carbon atoms. An example of “alkylthio” is methylthio, (CH₃S—).

The term “alkylamino group” denotes amino groups which have been substituted with one alkyl group and with two alkyl groups, including terms “N-alkylamino” and “N,N-dialkylamino”. In embodiments, alkylamino groups are “lower alkylamino” groups having one or two alkyl groups of one to six carbon atoms, attached to a nitrogen atom. In other embodiments, lower alkylamino groups have one to three carbon atoms. Suitable “alkylamino” groups may be mono or dialkylamino such as N-methylamino, N-ethylamino, N,N-dimethylamino, N,N-diethylamino and the like.

The term “arylamino group” denotes amino groups which have been substituted with one or two aryl groups, such as N-phenylamino. The “arylamino” groups may be further substituted on the aryl ring portion of the group.

The term “heteroarylamino” denotes amino groups which have been substituted with one or two heteroaryl groups, such as N-thienylamino. The “heteroarylamino” groups may be further substituted on the heteroaryl ring portion of the group.

The term “aralkylamino group” denotes amino groups which have been substituted with one or two aralkyl groups. In other embodiments, there are phenyl-C₁-C₃-alkylamino groups, such as N-benzylamino. The “aralkylamino” groups may be further substituted on the aryl ring portion of the group.

The term “alkylaminoalkylamino group” denotes alkylamino groups which have been substituted with one or two alkylamino groups. In embodiments, there are C₁-C₃-alkylamino-C₁-C₃-alkylamino groups.

The term “arylthio group” encompasses aryl groups of six to ten carbon atoms, attached to a divalent sulfur atom. An example of “arylthio” is phenylthio. The term “aralkylthio group” encompasses aralkyl groups as described above, attached to a divalent sulfur atom. In certain embodiments there are phenyl-C₁-C₃-alkylthio groups. An example of “aralkylthio” is benzylthio.

The term “aryloxy group” encompasses optionally substituted aryl groups, as defined above, attached to an oxygen atom. Examples of such groups include phenoxy.

The term “aralkoxy group” encompasses oxy-containing aralkyl groups attached through an oxygen atom to other groups. In certain embodiments, aralkoxy groups are “lower aralkoxy” groups having optionally substituted phenyl groups attached to lower alkoxy group as described above.

The term “cycloalkyl group” includes saturated carbocyclic groups. In certain embodiments, cycloalkyl groups include C₃-C₆rings. In embodiments, there are compounds that include, cyclopentyl, cyclopropyl, and cyclohexyl.

The term “cycloalkenyl group” includes carbocyclic groups that have one or more carbon-carbon double bonds; conjugated or non-conjugated, or a combination thereof. “Cycloalkenyl” and “cycloalkyldienyl” compounds are included in the term “cycloalkenyl”. In certain embodiments, cycloalkenyl groups include C₃-C₆rings. Examples include cyclopentenyl, cyclopentadienyl, cyclohexenyl and cycloheptadienyl. The “cycloalkenyl” group may have 1 to 3 substituents such as lower alkyl, hydroxyl, halo, haloalkyl, nitro, cyano, alkoxy, lower alkylamino, and the like.

The term “suitable substituent”, “substituent” or “substituted” used in conjunction with the groups described herein refers to a chemically and pharmaceutically acceptable group, i.e., a moiety that does not negate the therapeutic activity of the inventive compounds. It is understood that substituents and substitution patterns on the compounds of the invention may be selected by one of ordinary skill in the art to provide compounds that are chemically stable and that can be readily synthesized by techniques known in the art, as well as those methods set forth below. If a substituent is itself substituted with more than one group, it is understood that these multiple groups may be on the same carbon/member atom or on different carbons/member atoms, as long as a stable structure results. Illustrative examples of some suitable substituents include, cycloalkyl, heterocyclyl, hydroxyalkyl, benzyl, carbonyl, halo, haloalkyl, perfluoroalkyl, perfluoroalkoxy, alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, hydroxy, oxo, mercapto, alkylthio, alkoxy, aryl or heteroaryl, aryloxy or heteroaryloxy, aralkyl or heteroaralkyl, aralkoxy or heteroaralkoxy, HO—(C═O)—, amido, amino, alkyl- and dialkylamino, cyano, nitro, carbamoyl, alkylcarbonyl, alkoxycarbonyl, alkylaminocarbonyl, dialkylaminocarbonyl, arylcarbonyl, aryloxycarbonyl, alkylsulfonyl, and arylsulfonyl. Typical substituents include aromatic groups, substituted aromatic groups, hydrocarbon groups including alkyl groups such as methyl groups, substituted hydrocarbon groups such as benzyl, and heterogeneous groups including alkoxy groups such as methoxy groups.

The term “fused” means in which two or more carbons/member atoms are common to two adjoining rings, e.g., the rings are “fused rings”.

The pharmaceutically acceptable salts of the compounds of this invention include the conventional non-toxic salts of the compounds of this invention as formed, e.g., from non-toxic inorganic or organic acids. For example, such conventional non-toxic salts include those derived from inorganic acids such as hydrochloric, hydrobromic, sulfuric, sulfamic, phosphoric, nitric and the like; and the salts prepared from organic acids such as acetic, propionic, succinic, glycolic, stearic, lactic, malic, tartaric, citric, ascorbic, pamoic, maleic, hydroxymaleic, phenylacetic, glutamic, benzoic, salicylic, sulfanilic, 2-acetoxy-benzoic, fumaric, toluenesulfonic, methanesulfonic, ethane disulfonic, oxalic, isethionic, trifluoroacetic and the like. Preferred salts include oxalate and tartrate salts.

The pharmaceutically acceptable salts of the compounds of this invention can be synthesized from the compounds of this invention which contain a basic or acidic moiety by conventional chemical methods. Generally, the salts of the basic compounds are prepared either by ion exchange chromatography or by reacting the free base with stoichiometric amounts or with an excess of the desired salt-forming inorganic or organic acid in a suitable solvent or various combinations of solvents. Similarly, the salts of the acidic compounds are formed by reactions with the appropriate inorganic or organic base.

The present invention includes pharmaceutically acceptable salts, solvates and prodrugs of the compounds of the invention and mixtures thereof.

The terms “comprising”, “having” and “including”, and various endings thereof, are meant to be open ended, including the indicated component but not excluding other elements.

Therapeutically active compounds of the present invention comprise thiosemicarbazones, in particular thiosemicarbazones represented by Formula I:

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wherein:

R₁and R₂together form a substituted or unsubstituted polycyclic ring. The ring has at least two ring systems. The two ring systems have a first ring system that is bonded to C1 and a second ring system that is fused to the first ring system.

In one embodiment, the first ring system is a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic group and the second ring system is a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted carbocyclic group, or a substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic group.

In a second embodiment, the first ring system is a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic group and the second ring system is a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted carbocyclic group, a substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic group.

In a further embodiment, the first ring system is a substituted or unsubstituted saturated carbocyclic group and the second ring system is a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted unsaturated carbocyclic group, a substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic group, or a substituted or unsubstituted ring B:

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wherein X₁to X₆are each independently selected from carbon or a heteroatom.

In another embodiment, the first ring system is a substituted or unsubstituted unsaturated carbocyclic group and the second ring system is a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted carbocyclic group, a substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic group, or a substituted or unsubstituted ring B:

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wherein X₁to X₆are each independently selected from carbon or a heteroatom.

In yet another embodiment, the first ring system is a substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic group, the second ring system is a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted carbocyclic group, or a substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic group.

In another embodiment relating to the above-identified embodiments, the first ring system is a five- or six-membered ring.

In embodiments, the R₃to R₁₁groups are each independently selected from H, a substituted or unsubstituted hydrocarbon group, a substituted or unsubstituted heterogeneous group, a substituted or unsubstituted carbocyclic group, a substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic group, substituted or unsubstituted aromatic, or a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic. The R₁₂group is selected from H or a hydrocarbyl group and Y is selected from a heteroatom or a carbon atom. “A” is selected from a substituted or unsubstituted hydrocarbon group, a substituted or unsubstituted heterogeneous group, a substituted or unsubstituted carbocyclic group, a substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic group, substituted or unsubstituted aromatic, or a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic and “n” is an integer.

Therapeutically active compounds described herein can be the thiosemicarbazone compounds of Formula I, pharmaceutically-acceptable salts thereof, hydrates thereof, solvates thereof, tautomers thereof, optical isomers thereof, or a combination thereof.

In a specific embodiment, the first ring system of the compound of Formula I is a substituted or unsubstituted carbocyclic group and the second ring system is a substituted or unsubstituted ring B:

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wherein X₁to X₆are each independently selected from carbon or a heteroatom. In a more specific embodiment, ring B is a pyridine ring, typically fused to the first ring at C2 and C3 of the pyridine ring.

Although a first and second ring system is described herein, the substituted or unsubstituted polycyclic ring may further comprise other ring systems other than the first and second ring systems. For example, a third ring system may also be fused to the first ring system. The third ring system can be, for instance, a substituted or unsubstituted aromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic group, a substituted or unsubstituted carbocyclic group, or a substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic group. Typically, the third ring system is a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic group or a substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic group.

With respect to the embodiments described above with respect to Formula I, typically “n” is 0 or 1. If “n” is 1, “A” is typically a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic group, in particular, a pyridinyl group.

Also, with respect to the embodiments of Formula I, Y is typically a nitrogen atom. The ring:

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can be a variety of rings. The ring can be a substituted or unsubstituted thiomorpholinyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted morpholinyl group, a substituted or unsubstituted piperidinyl group, or a substituted or unsubstituted piperazinyl group.

In specific embodiments of Formula I, R₇is a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group or a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic group and R₃to R₆and R₈to R₁₂are each independently selected from H or a substituted or unsubstituted hydrocarbon group. More specifically, R₇can be the substituted or unsubstituted alkyl group or a substituted or unsubstituted pyridyl group and R₃to R₆and R₈to R₁₂are each H.

In specific embodiments, the compound of Formula I can be:

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Such compounds may be used and/or in the form of a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt, hydrate, solvate or any combination thereof.

The compounds of Formula I described herein can be prepared as follows:

a) reacting a compound of Formula II:

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with a compound of Formula IIA:

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to form an intermediate of Formula III:

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b) reacting the Intermediate of Formula III with R₁₂NHNH₂to form an Intermediate of Formula IV:

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c) reacting the Intermediate of Formula IV with a ketone:

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under condensation conditions, to form the compound of Formula I. In specific embodiments, the above-identified synthetic method can be used when “n” is 0 or 1; more typically, when “n” is 0.

The compounds of Formula I described herein can also be prepared as follows:

a) dithioesterifying a halo compound of Formula V:

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to form an intermediate of Formula VI, wherein R, R′₁, or R′₂is substituted or unsubstituted hydrocarbon group, a substituted or unsubstituted heterogeneous group, a substituted or unsubstituted carbocyclic group, a substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic group, substituted or unsubstituted aromatic, or a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic:

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b) reacting the Intermediate of Formula VI with R₁₂NHNH₂to form an Intermediate of Formula IV:

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c) reacting the Intermediate of Formula IV with a ketone:

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under condensation conditions, to form the compound of Formula I. In specific embodiments, the above-identified synthetic method can be used when “n” is 0 or 1; more typically, when “n” is 1.

The compounds of Formula I described herein can also be prepared as follows:

a) esterifying compound of Formula IIA:

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to form an intermediate of Formula VII, wherein R is substituted or unsubstituted hydrocarbon group, a substituted or unsubstituted heterogeneous group, a substituted or unsubstituted carbocyclic group, a substituted or unsubstituted heterocyclic group, substituted or unsubstituted aromatic, or a substituted or unsubstituted heteroaromatic:

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b) reacting the Intermediate of Formula VII with R₁₂NHNH₂to form an Intermediate of Formula VIII:

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c) reacting the Intermediate of Formula VIII with a thiation agent to form an Intermediate of Formula IV:

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c) reacting the Intermediate of Formula IV with a ketone:

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under condensation conditions, to form the compound of Formula I. Examples of a thiation agent include, but are not limited to, phosphorus pentasulfide or Lawesson's reagent. In specific embodiments, the above-identified synthetic method can be used when “n” is 0 or 1; more typically, when “n” is 1.

The compounds described herein are useful in the treatment of cancer. High levels of activity for in vitro and in vivo testing have been observed against cancers and cancer models using the compounds of the present invention. This may lead to reduced dosages as compared with conventional therapeutic dosages of known agents.

The cancer treated may be, for example, lung cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, cancer of CNS, skin cancer, prostate cancer, sarcoma, breast cancer, leukemia, colorectal cancer, endometrial cancer, head cancer, neck cancer or kidney cancer. More typically, the cancer may be small cell lung cancer, breast cancer, acute leukemia, chronic leukemia, colorectal cancer, ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer or brain cancer. The cancer may be a carcinoma. The carcinoma may be selected from small cell carcinomas, cervical carcinomas, glioma, astrocytoma, prostate carcinomas, ovarian carcinomas, melanoma, breast carcinomas, endometrial carcinomas or colorectal carcinomas. Compounds of the present invention may be even more particularly useful in the treatment of small cell lung cancer (SCLC) carcinomas.

Compounds useful according to the present invention can have an IC₅₀for a cancer cell population when administered as single agents of less than about 1000 nM. In specific embodiments, compounds of the present invention show efficacy against SHP77 cells when administered as single agents at IC50's of less than about 1000 nM, typically less than about 800 nM, more typically less than about 500 nM, even more typically less than about 200 nM.

Compounds useful according to the present invention show efficacy against DMS144 cells when administered as single agents at IC50's of less than about 1000 nM, typically less than about 750 nM, more typically less than about 500 nM, even more typically less than about 300 nM, yet more typically less than about 100 nM.

Compounds useful according to the present invention show efficacy against U87 cells when administered as single agents at IC50's of less than about 2500 nM, typically less than about 1000 nM, more typically less than about 480 nM, even more typically less than about 200 nM, yet more typically less than about 75 nM.

Compounds useful according to the present invention show efficacy against SNB-19 cells when administered as single agents at IC50's of less than about 2150 nM, typically less than about 1500 nM, more typically less than about 800 nM, even more typically less than about 100 nM, yet more typically less than about 50 nM, still more typically less than about 15 nM.

Compounds useful according to the present invention are effective in reducing the size of malignant human cancer tumors created from SHP77, DMS114, N417 and/or U87 cell lines.

Compounds useful according to the present invention can penetrate the blood brain bather of a mammal, typically, a human.

Compounds useful according to the present invention may exhibit a reduced tendency to induce cellular resistance to either their own anti-cancer effects or the effects of other anti-cancer agents. Therefore, use of the compounds of the present invention to treat a cancer, as single agents or as part of a combination, may inhibit development of a drug resistant form of that cancer. Without wishing to be limited by theory, it is believed that the compounds of the present invention may inhibit development of P-glycoprotein mediated drug resistance and/or function as weak substrates of P-glycoprotein.

Certain compounds useful according to the present invention may exhibit reduced toxicity as compared with conventionally administered agents.

The compounds of this invention may be administered to mammals, typically humans, either alone or, in combination with pharmaceutically acceptable carriers or diluents, optionally with known adjuvants, such as alum, in a pharmaceutical composition, according to standard pharmaceutical practice. The compounds can be administered orally or parenterally, including the intravenous, intramuscular, intraperitoneal, and subcutaneous routes of administration.

As noted, compounds useful according to the present invention may be administered orally, unlike most current cancer therapies, which are administered intravenously. For oral use of a compound or composition in this invention, the selected compound may be administered, for example, in the form of tablets or capsules, or as an aqueous solution or suspension. In the case of tablets for oral use, carriers which are commonly used include lactose and corn starch, and lubricating agents, such as magnesium stearate, are commonly added. For oral administration in capsule form, useful diluents include lactose and dried corn starch. When aqueous suspensions are required for oral use, the active ingredient is combined with emulsifying and suspending agents. If desired, certain sweetening and/or flavoring agents may be added. For intramuscular, intraperitoneal, subcutaneous and intravenous use, sterile solutions of the active ingredient are usually prepared, and the pH of the solutions should be suitably adjusted and buffered. For intravenous use, the total concentration of solutes should be controlled in order to render the preparation isotonic.

At least about 50% of compounds useful according to the present invention can be orally absorbed by a mammal. In specific embodiments, at least about 60%; about 60% to about 85%; about 65%; about 70%; about 72%; about 73%, about 75%; about 80%; about 82%; or about 85% of the compound can be orally absorbed by a mammal, more typically, a human. “Oral absorption” is used in the context of how the compound/composition is delivered and absorbed into the blood. Typically, the compound/composition is administered orally and crosses a mucosal membrane of the gastro-intestinal tract, typically in the intestines. However, other methods of contacting the compounds/compositions of the present invention with the mucosal membrane of the gastro-intestinal tract may also be used.

The compounds of the present invention may also be combined and/or co-administered with other therapeutic agents that are selected for their particular usefulness against the cancer that is being treated. For example, the compounds of the present invention may be combined and/or co-administered with anti-cancer agent(s).

Examples of anti-cancer agents include, without being limited thereto, the following: estrogen receptor modulators, androgen receptor modulators, retinoid receptor modulators, cytotoxic agents, mTOR inhibitors, particularly mTOR-Raptor complex inhibitors, antiproliferative agents, tyrosine kinase inhibitors, prenyl-protein transferase inhibitors, HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, HIV protease inhibitors, reverse transcriptase inhibitors, other angiogenesis inhibitors and combinations thereof. The present compounds may also be useful with other therapies such as when co-administered with radiation therapy.

“Estrogen receptor modulators” refers to compounds which interfere or inhibit the binding of estrogen to the receptor, regardless of mechanism. Examples of estrogen receptor modulators include, but are not limited thereto, tamoxifen, raloxifene, idoxifene, LY353381, LY117081, toremifene, fulvestrant, 4-[7-(2,2-dimethyl-1-oxopropoxy-4-methyl-2-[4-[2-(1-piperidinyl)ethoxy]phenyl]-2H-1-benzopyran-3-yl]-phenyl-2,2-dimethylpropanoate, 4,4′-dihydroxybenzophenone-2,4-dinitrophenyl-hydrazone, and SH646.

“Androgen receptor modulators” refers to compounds which interfere or inhibit the binding of androgens to the receptor, regardless of mechanism. Examples of androgen receptor modulators include finasteride and other 5α-reductase inhibitors, nilutamide, flutamide, bicalutamide, liarozole, and abiraterone acetate.

“Retinoid receptor modulators” refers to compounds which interfere or inhibit the binding of retinoids to the receptor, regardless of mechanism. Examples of such retinoid receptor modulators include bexarotene, tretinoin, 13-cis-retinoic acid, 9-cis-retinoic acid, α-difluoromethylomithine, ILX23-7553, trans-N-(4′-hydroxyphenyl) retinamide and N-4-carboxyphenyl retinamide.

“Cytotoxic agents” refer to compounds which cause cell death primarily by interfering directly with the cell's functioning or inhibit or interfere with cell myosis, including alkylating agents, tumor necrosis factors, intercalators, microtubulin inhibitors, and topoisomerase inhibitors.

Examples of cytotoxic agents include, but are not limited thereto, cyclophosphamide ifosfamide, hexamethylmelamine, tirapazimine, sertenef, cachectin, ifosfamide, tasonermin, lonidamine, carboplatin, mitomycin, altretamine, prednimustine, dibromodulcitol, ranimustine, fotemustine, nedaplatin, oxaliplatin, temozolomide, doxorubicin (Doxil™), heptaplatin, estramustine, improsulfan tosilate, trofosfamide, nimustine, dibrospidium chloride, pumitepa, lobaplatin, satraplatin, profiromycin, cisplatin, irofulven, dexifosfamide, cis-aminedichloro(2-methyl-pyridine) platinum, benzylguanine, glufosfamide, GPX100, (trans, trans, trans)-bis-mu-(hexane-1,6-diamine)-mu-[diamine-platinum(II)]bis[diamine(chloro)-platinum (II)]tetrachloride, diarizidinylspermine, arsenic trioxide, 1-(11-dodecylamino-10-hydroxyundecyl)-3,7-dimethylxanthine, zorubicin, idarubicin, daunorubicin, bisantrene, mitoxantrone, pirarubicin, pinafide, valrubicin, amrubicin, antineoplaston, 3′-deamino-3′-morpholino-13-deoxo-10-hydroxycaminomycin, annamycin, galarubicin, elinafide, MEN10755, and 4-demethoxy-3-deamino-3-aziridinyl-4-methylsulphonyl-daunor-ubicin (see International Patent Application No. WO 00/50032).

“mTOR inhibitors” are a subset of the cytotoxic agents and refer particularly to inhibitors of the mTOR-Raptor complex. Included in the definition of mTOR inhibitors are anti-cancer agents such as rapamycin and its derivatives, sirolimus, temsirolimus, everolimus, zotarolimus and deforolimus.

Examples of microtubulin inhibitors include paclitaxel (Taxol®), vindesine sulfate, 3′,4′-didehydro-4′-deoxy-8′-norvincaleukoblastine, docetaxel, rhizoxin, dolastatin, mivobulin isethionate, auristatin, cemadotin, RPR109881, BMS184476, vinflunine, cryptophycin, 2,3,4,5,6-pentafluoro-N-(−3-fluoro-4-methoxyphenyl)benzene sulfonamide, anhydrovinblastine, N,N-dimethyl-L-valyl-L-valyl-N-methyl-L-valyl-L-prolyl-L-proline-t-butylamide, TDX258, and BMS 188797.

Some examples of topoisomerase inhibitors are topotecan, hycaptamine, irinotecan, rubitecan, 6-ethoxypropionyl-3′,4′-O-exo-benzylidene-chartreusin, 9-methoxy-N,N-dimethyl-5-nitropyrazolo[3,4,5-kl]acridine-2-(6H)propanamine, 1-amino-9-ethyl-5-fluoro-2,3-dihydro-9-hydroxy-4-methyl-1H,12H benzo[de]pyrano[3′,4′:b,7]indolizino[1,2b]quinoline-10,13(9H,15H) dione, lurtotecan, 7-[2-(N-isopropylamino)ethyl]-(20S)camptothecin, BNP1350, BNPI1100, BN80915, BN80942, etoposide phosphate, teniposide, sobuzoxane, 2′-dimethylamino-2′-deoxy-etoposide, GL331, N-[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl]-9-hydroxy-5,6-dimethyl-6H-pyrido[4,3-b]carbazo-1e-1-carboxamide, asulacrine, (5a, 5aB, 8aa,9b)-9-[2-[N-[2-(dimethylamino)-ethyl]-N-methylamino]ethyl]-5-[4-Hydroxy-3,5-dimethoxyphenyl]-5,5a,6,8,8a,-9-hexohydrofuro(3′,′:6,7)naphtho(2,3-d)-1,3-dioxol-6-one, 2,3-(methylenedioxy)-5-methyl-7-hydroxy-8-methoxybenzo[c]-phenanthridinium, 6,9-bis[(2-aminoethyl)amino]benzo[g]isoquinoline-5,10-dione, 5-(3-aminopropylamino)-7,10-dihydroxy-2-(2-hydroxyethylaminomethyl)-6H-pyrazolo[4,5,1-de]acridin-6-one, N-[1-[2(diethylamino)ethylamino]-7-methoxy-9-oxo-9H-thioxanthen-4-ylmethyl]formamide, N-(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl)acrid-ine-4-carboxamide, 6-[[2-(dimethylamino)ethyl]amino]-3-hydroxy-7H-indeno[2-,1-c]quinolin-7-one, and dimesna.

“Antiproliferative agents” includes BCNU, antisense RNA and DNA oligonucleotides such as G3139, ODN698, RVASKRAS, GEM231, and INX3001, and antimetabolites such as floxuridine, enocitabine, carmofur, tegafur, pentostatin, doxifluridine, trimetrexate, fludarabine, capecitabine, galocitabine, cytarabine ocfosfate, fosteabine sodium hydrate, raltitrexed, paltitrexid, emitefur, tiazofurin, decitabine, nolatrexed, pemetrexed, nelzarabine, 2′-deoxy-2′-methylidenecytidine, 2′-fluoromethylene-2′-deoxy-cytidine, N-[5-(2,3-dihydro-benzofuryl)sulfonyl]-N′-(3,4-dichlorophenyl) urea, N6-[4-deoxy-4-[N2-[2(E),4(E)-tetradecadienoyl]glycylamino]-L-glycer-o-B-L-manno-heptopyranosyl]adenine, aplidine, ecteinascidin, troxacitabine, 4-[2-amino-4-oxo-4,6,7,8-tetrahydro-3H-pyrimidino[5,4-b][1,4]thiazin-6-yl-(S)-ethyl]-2,5-thienoyl-L-glutamic acid, aminopterin, 5-fluorouracil, alanosine, 11-acetyl-8-(carbamoyloxymethyl)-4-formyl-6-methoxy-14-oxa-1,11-diazatetracyclo(7.4.1.0.0)-tetradeca-2,4,6-trien-9-yl acetic acid ester, swainsonine, lometrexol, dexrazoxane, methioninase, 2′-cyano-2′-deoxy-N4-palmitoyl-1-B-D-arabino furanosyl cytosine, and 3-aminopyridine-2-carboxaldehyde thiosemicarbazone.

“Antiproliferative agents” also includes monoclonal antibodies to growth factors, other than those listed under “angiogenesis inhibitors”, such as trastuzumab, and tumor suppressor genes, such as p53, which can be delivered via recombinant virus-mediated gene transfer (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,069,134, for example).

Some specific examples of tyrosine kinase inhibitors include N-(trifluoromethylphenyl)-5-methylisoxazol-4-carboxamide, 3-[(2,4-dimethylpyrrol-5-yl)-methylidenyl)indolin-2-one, 17-(allylamino)-17-demethoxygeldanamycin, 4-(3-chloro-4-fluorophenylamino-)-7-methoxy-6-[3-(4-morpholinyl)propoxyl]-quinazoline, N-(3-ethynylphenyl)-6,7-bis(2-methoxyethoxy)-4-quinazolinamine, 2,3,9,10,11,12-hexahydro-10-(hydroxymethyl)-10-hydroxy-9-methyl-9,12-epoxy-1H-diindolo[1,2,3-fg:3′,2′,1′-kl]pyrrolo[3,4-i][1,6]benzodiazocin-1-one, SH1382, genistein, 4-(3-chlorophenylamino)-5,6-dimethyl-7H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidinemethane sulfonate, 4-(3-bromo-4-hydroxyphenyl)-amino-6,7-dimethoxyquinazoline, 4-(4′-hydroxyphenyl)amino-6,7-dimethoxyquinazoline, N-4-chlorophenyl-4-(4-pyridylmethyl)-1-phthalazinamine, and Tarceva® (erlotinib).

Typical examples of anti-cancer agents suitable for use in combination therapies or compositions according to the invention include cisplatin, rapamycin, tecrolimus, temsirolimus, paclitaxel, erlotinib, cetuximab and doxorubicin.

If formulated as a fixed dose, such combination products employ the compounds of this invention within the dosage range described below and the other pharmaceutically active agent(s) within its approved dosage range. Compounds of the present invention may alternatively be used sequentially with known pharmaceutically acceptable agent(s) when a combination formulation is inappropriate.

The term “administration” (e.g., “administering” a compound) in reference to a compound of the invention means introducing the compound or a prodrug of the compound into the system of the animal in need of treatment. When a compound of the invention or prodrug thereof is provided in combination with one or more other active agents (e.g., a cytotoxic agent, etc.), “administration” and its variants are each understood to include concurrent and sequential introduction of the compound or prodrug thereof and other agents.

The term “treating cancer” or “treatment of cancer” refers to administration to a mammal afflicted with a cancerous condition and refers to an effect that alleviates the cancerous condition by killing the cancerous cells, but also to an effect that results in the inhibition of growth and/or metastasis of the cancer.

When a compound according to this invention is administered into a human subject, the daily dosage will normally be determined by the prescribing physician with the dosage generally varying according to the age, weight, and response of the individual patient, as well as the severity of the patient's symptoms.

In one exemplary application, a suitable amount of compound is administered to a mammal undergoing treatment for cancer. Administration occurs in an amount from about 0.01 mg/kg of body weight to greater than about 100 mg/kg of body weight per day; from about 0.01 mg/kg of body weight to about 500 mg/kg of body weight per day; from about 0.01 mg/kg of body weight to about 250 mg/kg of body weight per day; or 0.01 mg/kg of body weight to about 100 mg/kg of body weight per day. These dosages can be more particularly used orally.

The compounds of this invention may be prepared by employing reactions and standard manipulations that are known in the literature or exemplified herein.

Without wishing to be limited by theory, it is believed that the therapeutic compounds described herein, especially those compounds according to Formula I, function by reducing or preventing activity of Akt, particularly Akt2, via inhibition of Serine 473 (“Ser 473”) phosphorylation. Akt (also known as protein kinase B) is a serine/threonine kinase, which in mammals comprises three isoforms known as Akt1, Akt2, and Akt3. Cancerous cells often auto-phosphorylate Akt and an interruption in this cycle is useful in preventing tumour growth Inhibition of Ser 473 phosphorylation may decrease phosphorylation of Caspase 9, which may have the effect of increasing active Caspase 9 and inducing apoptosis via Caspase 3.

Again, without wishing to be limited by theory, it is believed that the Mamallian Targets of Rapamycin (mTOR) cell signaling pathway may be involved in a compound's ability to inhibit Akt phosphorylation at Ser 473. The preponderance of the available evidence supports the contention that the mTOR-Rictor complex is the agent responsible for the phosphorylation event at Ser 473 of Akt. At present two major components of mTOR, namely mTOR-Raptor complex and mTOR-Rictor complex, have been identified. mTOR-Raptor complex is centrally involved in cellular immunity and organ rejection. mTOR-Raptor complex inhibitors have also demonstrated both in vitro and in vivo anti-neoplastic properties.

Conventional mTOR inhibitors are thought to interfere with the mTOR-Raptor complex. Prior to this disclosure, there were no recognized therapeutic agents shown to inhibit the mTOR-Rictor complex. The compounds described herein according to Formula I include examples of mTOR-Rictor complex inhibitors, particularly the compound designated as COTI-2. By inhibiting Ser 473 phosphorylation of Akt2, the compounds described herein implicate the mTOR-Rictor complex and therefore provide a novel mechanistic pathway for anti-cancer therapy.

It has been shown herein that there is a synergistic effect, defined as a greater than additive benefit, provided by co-administration of an mTOR-Raptor complex inhibitor and an mTOR-Rictor complex inhibitor in the treatment of cancer. It is believed that, by acting simultaneously on both the Raptor and Rictor components of mTOR, superior inhibiton of mTOR can be achieved leading to improved cancer treatment outcomes, at least for cancers normally susceptible to treatment by conventional mTOR inhibitors. In particular, those cancers that are treatable by inhibition of Akt and particularly Akt2, for example via inhibition of Ser473 phosphorylation, are believed to be especially good candidates for exhibiting synergistic improvements in treatment outcome when exposed to co-administration of mTOR-Raptor and mTOR-Rictor complex inhibitors.

However, the synergistic improvement in treatment outcome is not only limited to combinations of the therapeutic compounds of the invention and mTOR inhibitors. Synergy has also been observed with other anti-cancer agents, for example the cytotoxic agents cisplatin, paclitaxel, erlotinib, cetuximab and doxorubicin. Therefore, there are numerous anti-cancer agents that exhibit synergistic improvements in treatment outcome when co-administered with the therapeutic compounds of the invention, especially those according to Formula I.

These methods and uses are applicable to cancers characterized by expression of Akt, particularly cancers characterized by auto-phosphorylation of Akt. Cancers wherein the mTOR cell signaling pathway has been implicated or where administration of mTOR-Raptor complex inhibitors are part of accepted treatment practices, for example, small cell lung cancer, carcinoid tumors, metastatic colorectal cancer, islet cell carcinoma, metastatic renal cell carcinoma, breast cancer, ovarian cancer or endometrial cancer, adenocarcinomas, glioblastoma multiforme, bronchoalveolar lung cancers, sarcomas (including leiomyosarcomas), non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, neuroendocrine tumors, and neuroblastoma are particularly suitable examples.

Although any combination of doses may be used, typically doses of the anti-cancer agent and/or the therapeutic compound that provide a synergistic effect, or greater than additive benefit, are used. For example, doses of the anti-cancer agent and/or the therapeutic compound may be selected to synergistically lower overall toxicity while maintaining substantially the same overall treatment effect on cancerous cells as observed when the anti-cancer agent is administered alone. In another example, doses of the anti-cancer agent and/or the therapeutic compound may be selected to produce substantially the same overall toxicity while synergistically increasing the treatment effect on cancerous cells as observed when the anti-cancer agent is administered alone.

Due to this synergistic behaviour, anti-cancer agents, particularly mTOR-Raptor complex inhibitors, may be advantageously administered at doses lower than currently approved doses by co-administration with therapeutic compounds according to the invention without substantially reducing the efficacy of the cancer treatment. This has the benefit of reducing toxicity of the combination. In addition, the toxicity of the therapeutic compound being co-administered may be less due to either a lower required dose or improved toxicological properties; this has the effect of further lowering overall toxicity of the combination without compromising the overall treatment effect.

The use of the therapeutic compound at a lower dose than the anti-cancer agent includes doses that are, for example, at most about 80%, about 50%, about 40%, about 30%, about 20%, about 10%, about 5%, about 3%, about 2%, about 1%, about 0.75%, about 0.5%, about 0.25%, or about 0.1%, etc. of the dose of the anti-cancer compound. At these doses, a synergistic effect in the treatment of cancerous cells may be observed.

Without wishing to be limited by theory, compounds described herein may also function by interrupting cellular metabolic cycles in which p-glycoprotein (Pgp) participates. These cellular cycles are known to “pump” cellular toxins such as some chemotherapeutic agents across the cellular membrane out of the cell and serve to lower the concentration of therapeutic agents within cancerous cells. By interrupting this process, the compounds described herein are allowed to accumulate to higher concentrations within cancerous cells, thereby providing them with substantially increased efficacy in the treatment of cancer. The compounds are characterized in that they inhibit p-glycoprotein and/or are weak substrates for p-glycoprotein.

The effect on P-glycoprotein of compounds described herein makes them particularly suitable for use in combination therapy with other anti-cancer agents, in particular cytotoxic agents such as cisplatin and paclitaxel (Taxol™), since these agents are thereby allowed to accumulate to higher levels within the cancerous cells. A synergistic effect or greater than additive benefit may therefore be observed when compounds described herein are administered in combination with other anti-cancer agents, in particular cytotoxic agents such as cisplatin and paclitaxel (see FIGS. 19-22).

Also provided herein is a therapeutic method or use for the treatment of cancer comprising potentiating an anti-cancer agent, particularly a cytotoxic agent, by co-administering a therapeutic compound as described herein that is a p-glycoprotein inhibitor and/or weak p-glycoprotein substrate, preferably in a manner producing a synergistic therapeutic effect.

Without wishing to be limited by theory, compounds described herein may work by preventing activity of Akt via inhibition of Ser 473 phosphorylation, and also by interrupting cellular metabolic cycles in which P-glycoprotein (Pgp) participates This defines a further novel sub-class of therapeutic compounds; compounds that are both Ser 473 phosphorylation inhibitors and P-glycoprotein inhibitors. Although applicable to a wide variety of cancers, this novel sub-class of therapeutic compounds is particularly useful in the treatment of cancers wherein administration of mTOR-Raptor complex inhibitors and/or cytotoxic agents is/are part of accepted treatment practices.

The synergistic improvement in treatment outcome may be a greater than additive improvement in overall efficacy obtained by co-administration as compared with administration of either agent alone. This may be illustrated through obtaining a “combination index” (CI) value of less than 1, as is described in detail in Example 18, hereinafter.

It has also been shown that therapeutic compounds according to Formula I exhibit improved efficacy in treatment of cancers characterized by over-expression of RAS, by an EGFR mutation, and/or by over-expression of AKT2. Such compounds are beneficial as many anti-cancer agents are known to have difficulty in obtaining efficacy in the treatment of these types of cancers. In particular, compounds of Formula I have been shown efficacious in treatment of cancers characterized by the KRAS mutation. Exemplary forms of this cancer include leukemia, colon cancer, colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, lung cancer, multiple myeloma, endometrial cancer, and ovarian cancer. Cancers characterized by the EGFR mutation include lung cancer, glioblastoma, colon cancer, gastric cancer, renal cancer, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and ovarian cancer. In particular, compounds according to formula I have shown efficacy in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer cell lines, particularly those with the EGFR mutation. The compounds of Formula I may be advantageously co-administered with other anti-cancer agents in the treatment of cancers characterized by over-expression of RAS, by an EGFR mutation, and/or by over-expression of AKT2. This co-administration may produce an improved treatment outcome as compared with sole administration. This co-administration may even produce a synergistic benefit, as previously defined, in treatment outcome as compared with sole administration.

COTI-2 and COTI-2MO5 are one and the same. COTI-2 and COTI-2MO5 are used interchangeably throughout the specification.

When introducing elements disclosed herein, the articles “a”, “an”, “the”, and “said” are intended to mean that there are one or more of the elements.

The above disclosure generally describes the present invention. A more complete understanding can be obtained by reference to the following specific Examples. These Examples are described solely for purposes of illustration and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Changes in form and substitution of equivalents are contemplated as circumstances may suggest or render expedient. Although specific terms have been employed herein, such terms are intended in a descriptive sense and not for purposes of limitation.

EXAMPLES
Synthesis of COTI-2

The synthesis of COTI-2, as depicted above, was conducted according to the following synthetic methodology:

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Imidazol-1-yl-(4-pyridin-2-yl-piperazin-1-yl)-methanethione (or intermediate 3 above) was formed as follows. N-(2-pyridyl) piperazine (MW 163.22, 0.91 ml, 6.0 mmoles, 1 eq) 2 was added to a solution of 1,1′-thiocarbonyldiimidazole (MW 178.22, 1.069 g, 6.0 mmoles, 1 eq) 1 in 50 ml of dichloromethane at room temperature. The reaction mixture was stirred overnight at room temperature. The mixture was washed with water, dried over sodium sulfate, filtered and concentrated to provide imidazol-1-yl-(4-pyridin-2-yl-piperazin-1-yl)-methanethione (MW 273.36, 1.354 g, 4.95 mmol, 83% yield)₃, which was used without further purification. TLC(CH₂Cl₂/MeOH: 95/5): Rf=0.60, Product UV and Ninhydrin stain active. ¹H-NMR (400 MHz, CDCl₃), δ ppm: 3.72 (s, 4H), 4.02 (s, 4H), 6.67 (d, 1H, J=7 Hz), 6.72 (dd, 1H, J=7 and 5 Hz), 7.11 (s, 1H), 7.24 (s, 1H), 7.54 (t, 1H, J=7 Hz), 7.91 (s, 1H), 8.20 (d, 1H, J=5 Hz).

Hydrazine hydrate (MW 50.06, 0.26 ml, 5.44 mmoles, 1.1 eq) was added to a solution of imidazol-1-yl-(4-pyridin-2-yl-piperazin-1-yl)-methanethione 3 (MW 210.30, 1.040 g, 4.95 mmol, 1 eq) in 30 ml of ethanol at room temperature. The reaction mixture was stirred under reflux for 2 hours. A white precipitate formed. This white solid was filtered off and rinsed with diethyl ether to yield 1-[N-(2-pyridyl)-piperazine)-carbothioic acid hydrazide (MW 237.33, 0.86 g, 3.62 mmol, 73% yield) 4 as a white solid, and used without further purification. TLC(CH₂Cl₂/MeOH: 95/5): Rf=0.20, Product UV and Ninhydrin stain active. ¹H-NMR (400 MHz, DMSO-d₆), δ? ppm: 3.53 (s, 4H), 3.85 (s, 4H), 6.66 (dd, 1H, J=8 and 5 Hz), 6.82 (d, 1H, J=8 Hz), 7.55 (t, 1H, J=8 Hz), 8.12 (d, 1H, J=5 Hz).

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Finally, COTI-2 was formed as follows. 1-[N-(2-pyridyl)-piperazine)-carbothioic acid hydrazide (MW 237.33, 0.475 g, 2.0 mmol, 1 eq) 4 and 6,7-dihydro-5H-quinolin-8-one (MW 147.18, 0.306 g, 2.0 mmol, 1 eq) 5 was dissolved in 15 ml of ethanol at room temperature. The mixture was then stirred under reflux for 20 hours. A yellow solid precipitated out of the solution. This solid was filtered off then rinsed with methanol and diethyl ether to yield COTI-2 (MW 366.48, 0.60 g, 1.64 mmol, 82% yield) as a yellow solid. TLC(CH₂Cl₂/MeOH: 95/5): Rf=0.75, Product UV and Ninhydrine stain active. HPLC analysis showed a mixture of isomers (approximately in 80/20 ratio), and >98% purity. During the HPLC Method Development, as expected, this product tends to be hydrolyzed in presence of TFA in mobile phase solution. MS (ESI+, 0.025% TFA in 50/50 MeOH/H₂O): [M+H]⁺=367.1, [M+Na]⁺=389.1; ¹H-NMR (400 MHz, CDCl₃), δ? ppm (Major isomer): 2.09 (m, 2H), 2.92 (m, 4H), 3.67 (m, 4H), 4.27 (m, 4H), 6.69 (dd, 1H, J=8 and 5 Hz), 7.25 (dd, 1H, J=8 and 5 Hz), 7.55 (d, 2H, J=8 Hz), 8.23 (d, 1H, J=5 Hz), 8.63 (d, 1H, J=5 Hz), 14.76 (s, 1H). δ ppm (Minor isomer): 2.09 (m, 2H), 3.14 (t, 4H, J=6 Hz), 3.80 (m, 4H), 4.27 (m, 4H), 6.66 (m, 1H), 7.31 (dd, 1H, J=8 and 5 Hz), 7.52 (m, 1H), 7.70 (d, 1H, J=8 Hz), 8.23 (d, 1H, J=5 Hz), 8.53 (d, 1H, J=5 Hz), 15.65 (s, 1H).

Synthesis of COTI-219

The synthesis of COTI-219, as depicted above, was conducted according to the following synthetic methodology:

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Imidazol-1-yl-(4-methyl-piperazin-1-yl)-methanethione (or intermediate 7 above) was formed as follows. N-Methyl piperazine (MW 100.16, 0.67 ml, 6.0 mmol, 1 eq) 6 was added to a solution of 1,1′-thiocarbonyldiimidazole (MW 178.22, 1.069 g, 6.0 mmol, 1 eq) 1 in 50 ml of dichloromethane at room temperature. The reaction mixture was stirred overnight at room temperature. This mixture was washed with water, dried over sodium sulfate, filtered and concentrated to provide imidazol-1-yl-(4-methyl-piperazin-1-yl)-methanethione (MW 210.30, 1.040 g, 4.95 mmol, 82% yield) 7 and used without further purification. TLC (CH₂Cl₂/MeOH: 95/5): Rf=0.35, Product UV and Ninhydrine stain active. ¹H-NMR (400 MHz, CDCl₃), δ ppm: 2.37 (s, 3H), 2.56 (s, 4H), 3.94 (s, 4H), 7.11 (s, 1H), 7.21 (s, 1H), 7.88 (s, 1H).

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1-(N-Methyl piperazine)-carbothioic acid hydrazide (or intermediate 8 above) was formed as follows. Hydrazine hydrate (MW 50.06, 0.26 ml, 5.44 mmol, 1.1 eq) was added to a solution of imidazol-1-yl-(4-methyl-piperazin-1-yl)-methanethione 7 (MW 210.30, 1.040 g, 4.95 mmol, 1 eq) in 30 ml of ethanol at room temperature. The reaction mixture was stirred under reflux for 2 hours. This mixture was concentrated. The solid thus obtained was triturated with diethyl ether and filtered to yield 1-(N-Methyl piperazine)-carbothioic acid hydrazide (MW 174.27, 0.53 g, 3.04 mmol, 61% yield) 8 as a white solid which was used without further purification. TLC(CH₂Cl₂/MeOH: 90/10): Rf=0.15, Product UV and Ninhydrin stain active. ¹H-NMR (400 MHz, DMSO-d₆), δ ppm: 2.17 (s, 3H), 2.28 (t, 4H, J=5 Hz), 3.69 (t, 4H, J=5 Hz).

Finally, COTI-219 was made as follows. 1-(N-Methyl piperazine)-carbothioic acid hydrazide (MW 174.27, 0.174 g, 1.0 mmol, 1 eq) 8 and 1,8-diazafluoren-9-one (MW 182.18, 0.182 g, 1.0 mmol, 1 eq) 9 was dissolved in 15 ml of ethanol at room temperature, in the presence of 1% glacial acetic acid (MW 60.05, 0.15 ml, 2.6 mmol, 2.6 eq). The mixture was stirred under reflux for 6 hours. After concentration, the crude thus obtained was taken up in dichloromethane, washed with a potassium carbonate aqueous solution then with water. The organic layer was dried over sodium sulfate, filtered and concentrated. The crude was purified by ISCO CombiFlash™ Companion (Redisep™ cartridge 12 g, Normal phase, Gradient DCM/MeOH:10/0 to 9/1) and provided COTI-219 (MW 338.43, 0.330 g, 0.975 mmol, 98% yield) as a rust red solid. >95% purity by ¹H-NMR. MS [ESI+, 90/10 MeOH/H₂O (5 mM NH₄OAc, 0.2% Acetic acid)]: [M+H]⁺=339.1, [M+Na]⁺=361.1; ¹H-NMR (400 MHz, CDCl₃), δ ppm: 2.31 (s, 3H), 2.56 (t, 4H, J=5 Hz), 4.17 (t, 4H, J=5 Hz), 7.23 (dd, 1H, J=8 and 5 Hz), 7.31 (dd, 1H, J=8 and 5 Hz), 7.86 (d, 1H, J=8 Hz), 7.97 (d, 1H, J=8 Hz), 8.47 (d, 1H, J=5 Hz), 8.51 (d, 1H, J=5 Hz), 13.53 (s, 1H).

Synthesis of COTI-5

The synthesis of COTI-5, as depicted above, is conducted according to the following synthetic methodology:

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Intermediate 11 is formed by reacting compound 10 with potassium, permanganate under reflux conditions. Intermediate 11 is reacted with hydrazine hydrate in ethanol to form intermediate 12.

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Intermediate 12 is reacted with Lawesson's reagent in dioxane to form intermediate 13.

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Finally, COTI-5 is formed as follows. Intermediate 13 and 6,7-dihydro-5H-quinolin-8-one 5 is dissolved in ethanol at room temperature to yield COTI-5.

Synthesis of COTI-5

The synthesis of COTI-5, as depicted above, is conducted according to the following synthetic methodology:

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Intermediate 14 is formed by irradiating compound 10 in the presence of chlorine (the corresponding bromo compound of intermediate 14 can be formed using N-bromosuccinimide, benzyl peroxide in benzene). Intermediate 14 is reacted with S₈and methyl iodide in TEA and DMF (PhSO₂Na, acetonitrile, Pr₄NBr at 80° C. for 24 h or S₈, t-BuOK at R.T., THF then methyl iodide may also be used) to yield intermediate 15. Intermediate 15 is reacted with hydrazine hydrate in ethanol to form intermediate 13.

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Finally, COTI-5 is formed as follows. Intermediate 13 and 6,7-dihydro-5H-quinolin-8-one 5 is dissolved in ethanol at room temperature to yield COTI-5.

Example 1
In-Silico Assessment of Properties

An in-silico assessment of the properties of compounds according to the present invention was performed using the CHEMSAS® computational platform. CHEMSAS® is a robust proprietary computational platform for accelerated drug discovery, optimization and lead selection based upon a unique combination of traditional and modern pharmacology principles, statistical modeling and machine learning technologies. At the centre of the CHEMSAS® platform is a hybrid machine learning technology that may be used to: find, profile and optimize new targeted lead compounds; find novel uses for known compounds; and, solve problems with existing or potential drugs. In using the CHEMSAS® platform, first a therapeutic target was selected, in this case cancer and more particularly Small Cell Lung Cancer. The second step involved the design of a candidate molecule library containing thousands of potential compounds through the assembly of privileged molecular fragments. Thirdly, the candidate library was profiled and optimized using a combination of validated computational models and traditional expert medicinal chemistry. In this step, the CHEMSAS® platform developed 244 molecular descriptors for each candidate therapeutic compound. For example, molecular properties relating to a candidate compound's therapeutic efficacy, expected human toxicity, oral absorption, cumulative cellular resistance and/or kinetics were assessed. In some instances, comparative properties relating to commercially relevant benchmark compounds were also assessed. Potential lead compounds were then selected from the candidate library using a proprietary decision making tool designed to identify candidates with the optimal physical chemical properties, efficacy, ADME/Toxicity profile, etc. according to a pre-determined set of design criteria. The lead compounds selected from the candidate library were then synthesized for further pre-clinical development.

The properties of certain compounds according to the present invention, specifically COTI-217, COTI-220, COTI-219, COTI-2 and COTI-5, that were assessed in-silico using the CHEMSAS® computational platform are shown in Tables 1 to 13. Some of the predicted properties are validated by the experimental data provided herein, while other properties have been validated elsewhere during the development of other clinical candidates. The CHEMSAS® platform therefore provides a means of determining, predicting and/or testing the properties of a compound, particularly when used to determine the properties of compounds according to the present invention. The CHEMSAS® platform is also particularly useful in comparing the properties of compounds according to the invention with prior art compounds on a relative basis in silico.

Tables 1A and 1B: Physical Chemical Properties

Tables 1A and 1B shows that COTI-217, COTI-220, COTI-219, COTI-2 and COTI-5 are “drug-like” with good drug like physical properties.

TABLE 1A

MolID
FORMULA
MolWeight
MnLogP
HBndDon
HBndAcc

COTI217
C17H22N6S
342.469
1.859199
1
6

220
C18H20N6S
352.464
2.078432
1
6

COTI219
C17H18N6S
338.437
1.7646
1
6

COTI2
C19H22N6S
366.491
3.041311
1
6

COTI5
C20H24N6S
380.518
2.22023
1
6

TABLE 1B

MolID
TPSA
RotBnds
LipinskiAlerts
Veber

COTI217
37.5435
3
0
0

COTI220
53.3605
3
0
0

COTI219
53.3605
3
0
0

COTI2
53.3605
4
0
0

COTI5
53.3605
4
0
0

Legend for Table 1:

MolWeight stands for Molecular Weight measured in Daltons and is a size descriptor; MnLogP is an average of MLogP, ALogP98 and CLogP, all of which are calculated lipophilicity/solubility estimates;

HBndDon stands for Hydrogen Bond Donor and refers to the number of atoms able to donate electrons to potentially form Hydrogen bonds;

HBndAcc stands for Hydrogen Bond Acceptor and refers to the number of atoms able to accept electrons to potentially form Hydrogen bonds;

TPSA stands for Topological Polar Surface Area and is a measure of Molecular Surface Charge/Polarity;

RotBnds stands for Rotatable Bonds which is a count of freely rotatable single bonds in the molecule;

Lipinski Alerts: If any 2 of (Molecular weight >500 Daltons, Hydrogen Bond Donors >5, Hydrogen Bond Acceptors >10, MLogP >4.15) are true, then a molecule is likely to have poor bioavailability;

Veber Alerts: If TPSA >140 or number of Rotatable Bonds is >10, then bioavailability is likely to be poor.

Tables 2A and 2B: Solubility Properties

Tables 2A and 2B shows that COTI-217, COTI-220, COTI-219, COTI-2 and COTI-5 are expected to have acceptable solubility values for drug-like compounds.

TABLE 2A

MolID
FORMULA
MnLogP
LogD(pH 7)
LogS

COTI217
C17H22N6S
1.859199
0.309304
−3.09009

COTI220
C18H20N6S
2.078432
0.992417
−4.20136

COTI219
C17H18N6S
1.7646
1.067558
−3.78407

COTI2
C19H22N6S
3.041311
2.380243
−4.52904

COTI5
C20H24N6S
2.22023
1.019701
−4.49499

TABLE 2B

MolID
FORMULA
Acid pKa 2
Base pKa 1
Base pKa 2

COTI217
C17H22N6S
None
7.65056
None

COTI220
C18H20N6S
None
7.65056
4.71559

COTI219
C17H18N6S
None
7.65056
3.90139

COTI2
C19H22N6S
None
5.65356
4.882592

COTI5
C20H24N6S
None
7.870707
5.617688

Legend for Table 2:

MnLogP is an average of MLogP, ALogP98 and CLogP, all of which are calculated lipophilicity/solubilty estimates;

LogD(7.4) is a measure of relative solubility in octanol vs water at a specific pH, in this case pH=7.4;

LogS is the logarithm of the calculated solubility in pure water usually measured at 25 degrees centigrade;

pKa is a calculated estimate of the pH at which the drug or substructures of the drug is 50% ionized and 50% is unionized.

Table 3: Efficacy (LogGI50)

Table 3 shows that COTI-217, COTI-220, COTI-219, COTI-2 and COTI-5 are predicted to have sub-micromolar in vitro activity vs human SCLC cell lines. Actual measurements obtained in vitro confirm the prediction of activity at sub-micromolar levels for COTI-2 and COTI-219.

MolID
FORMULA
DMS114
SHP-77
Predicted
Actual

COTI217
C17H22N6S
<-6
<-6
Active
ND

COTI220
C18H20N6S
<-6
<-6
Active
ND

COTI219
C17H18N6S
<-6
<-6
Active
Active

COTI2
C19H22N6S
<-6
<-6
Active
Active

COTI5
C20H24N6S
<-6
<-6
Active
ND

Legend for Table 3:

DMS114 is a “classical” human small cell lung cancer line that is maintained by the National Cancer Institute in the United States;

SHP-77 is a “variant” human small cell lung cancer line that is maintained by the National Cancer Institute in the United States;

Predicted is the predicted in vitro Activity of the drug;

Actual is the actual outcome of in vitro testing in both of the reference human small cell lung cancer lines;

“Active” refers to drugs with predicted or measured GI50 <1 μmol/L;

ND means that the drug has not yet been tested in vitro.

Tables 4A and 4B: Oral Absorption and BBB Penetration

Tables 4A and 4B shows that COTI-217, COTI-220, COTI-219, COTI-2 and COTI-5 are expected to be absorbed orally.

TABLE 4A

HIA-

MolID
FORMULA
Mn % OrlAbs
Min % Abs
T2(MD)

COTI217
C17H22N6S
82.67412
67.67412
2.16777

COTI220
C18H20N6S
88.79283
73.79283
0.144973

COTI219
C17H18N6S
85.52785
70.52785
0.314455

COTI2
C19H22N6S
87.02755
72.02755
0.38029

COTI5
C20H24N6S
88.43881
73.43881
0.277855

TABLE 4B

ProbBBB

BBB-
Clark
SubKit

MolID
Pene
LogBBB
T2(MD)
LogBBB
LogBB

COTI217
0.918625
−0.32584
2.280528
−0.09599
−0.22923

COTI220
0.26949
−0.24921
0.254967
−0.36111
−0.20053

COTI219
0.331
−0.39022
0.551314
−0.39876
−0.31048

COTI2
0.710661
−0.01576
0.416152
−0.19558
−0.0185

COTI5
0.089884
−0.0646
0.315208
−0.37444
−0.05658

Legend for Table 4:

Mn % OrlAbs is the prediction of the mean percent oral absorption of the drug from an ensemble of 5-7 different models;

Min % Abs is the minimum value for the Mn % OrlAbs at the lower 95% Confidence Interval;

HIA-T2(MD) is the Malanabois distance, which is a measure of the calculated statistical distance from the centre of a population of drugs with optimal oral absorption;

ProbBBBPene is an estimate of the probability that the drug will penetrate the blood brain barrier and enter the central nervous system (CNS);

BBB-T2(MD) is the Malanabois distance, which is a measure of the calculated statistical distance from the centre of a population of drugs with optimal blood brain barrier penetration;

ClarkLogBBB is an estimate of a drugs penetration of the blood brain bather based on the drugs LogP and TPSA;

SubKitLogBB is another estimate of a drugs penetration of the blood brain barrier based on the drugs LogP and TPSA;

LogBB: if LogBB <=−1 the drug does not pentrate the BBB; if Log BB>0 there is likely to be good BB penetration; if −1<logBB<0 then BBB penetration is likely to be variable and may be poor.

Table 5: Metabolic Stability (Percent Remaining at 60 Minutes and Calculated Half Life in Hours)

Table 5 shows that in vitro metabolic stability is expected to be adequate for COTI-217, COTI-220, COTI-219, COTI-2 and COTI-5. COTI-2 is expected to be metabolized more quickly in human liver microsomes than the other COTI compounds. Both the estimated T1/2 and the T1/2 measured in vitro for COTI-2 and 219 are good.

Liver

T½
95% CI
In vitro

MolID
Microsomes
Hepatocytes
hrs
in Hrs
T½ (Hrs)

COTI217
54
66.4
5.3
1.9-8.7
ND

COTI220
64.1
72.5
3.9
1.4-6.4
ND

COTI219
66.7
74.18
4
1.4-6.6
~6.8 (5.0,

7.0, 8.5)

COTI2
23.7
55.94
8.7
3.1-14.3
~6.0 (1.7,

4.8, 11.4)

COTI5
50.9
64.42
6.1
2.2-10
ND

Legend for Table 5:

Liver Microsomes is the estimated percent remaining at 60 minutes after introduction of a dose of the drug into an in vitro/human liver microsomal enzyme system;

Hepatocytes is the estimated percent remaining at 60 minutes after introduction of a dose of the drug into an in vitro/human hepatocyte cellular system;

T1/2 hrs is a calculated estimate of the half life of the drug measured in hours; 95% CI in Hrs is the calculated 95% confidence interval estimate of the half life of the drug measured in hours;

In vitro T1/2(Hrs) is the actual half life in hours obtained from 3 in vitro experiments carried out at doses of 1 μmol, 10 μmol and 100 μmol (in brackets).

Table 6: Probability (CYP450 Isoenzyme Substrate)

Table 6 shows that COTI-217, COTI-220, COTI-219, COTI-2 and COTI-5 are likely to be metabolized by the CYP450 enzyme system. COTI-217, COTI-220, COTI-219, COTI-2 and COTI-5 are expected to undergo at least some CYP3A457 metabolism and COTI-2 may also undergo some CYP2D6 metabolism.

MolID
FORMULA
CYP1A2
CYP2B6
CYP2C8/9
CYP2C19
CYP2D6
CYP2E1
CYP3A457

COTI217
C17H22N6S
0.57
0.03
0.08
0.05
0.84
0.03
0.51

COTI220
C18H20N6S
0.07
0.02
0.12
0.05
0.22
0.02
0.93

COTI219
C17H18N6S
0.34
0.03
0.15
0.06
0.52
0.03
0.6

COTI2
C19H22N6S
0.05
0.03
0.13
0.06
0.8
0.03
0.93

COTI5
C20H24N6S
0.21
0.03
0.2
0.07
0.58
0.04
0.87

Legend for Table 6:

Table 6 represents the estimated probabilities that the drug in question will undergo at least 20% of its phase 1 metabolism by one or more of the 7 major isoenzyme forms of Cytochrome P450 (CYP450). The isoenzyme forms of CYP450 in Table 6 are: 1A2, 2B6, 2C8 or 9, 2C19, 2D6, 2E1 and 3A4, 5 or 7; these 7 isoenzyme forms account for >80% of phase 1 metabolism of all drugs that are orally administered to humans. The majority of all orally administered drugs are metabolized by the CYP3A family of isoenzymes.

Table 7: Probability (CYP450 Iso Enzyme Inhibitor)

Table 7 shows that COTI-217, COTI-220, COTI-219, COTI-2 and COTI-5 are not expected to significantly inhibit any CYP450 isoenzyme.

MolID
FORMULA
CYP1A2
CYP2B6
CYP2C8/9
CYP2C19
CYP2D6
CYP2E1
CYP3A457

COTI217
C17H22N6S
0.1
0.06
0.08
0.07
0.22
0.07
0.22

COTI220
C18H20N6S
0.09
0.06
0.33
0.12
0.16
0.06
0.12

COTI219
C17H18N6S
0.11
0.06
0.22
0.08
0.12
0.06
0.1

COTI2
C19H22N6S
0.09
0.06
0.33
0.18
0.37
0.07
0.4

COTI5
C20H24N6S
0.11
0.06
0.23
0.16
0.31
0.07
0.37

Legend for Table 7:

Table 7 represents the estimated probabilities that the drug in question will inhibit a given CYP isoenzyme activity by at least 20%; the isoenzyme forms of CYP450 in table 7 are: 1A2, 2B6, 2C8 or 9, 2C19, 2D6, 2E1 and 3A4, 5 or 7; these 7 isoenzyme forms account for >80% of phase 1 metabolism of all drugs that are orally administered to humans.

Table 8: Probability (CYP450 Iso Enzyme Inducer)

Table 8 shows that COTI-217, COTI-220, COTI-219, COTI-2 and COTI-5 are not expected to induce any of the CYP450 isoenzymes.

MolID
FORMULA
CYP1A2
CYP2B6
CYP2C8/9
CYP2C19
CYP2D6
CYP2E1
CYP3A457

COTI217
C17H22N6S
0.06
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05

COTI220
C18H20N6S
0.23
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05

COTI219
C17H18N6S
0.06
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.07

COTI2
C19H22N6S
0.07
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.09

COTI5
C20H24N6S
0.07
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.05
0.07

Legend for Table 8:

Table 8 represents the estimated probabilities that the drug in question will induce a given CYP isoenzyme activity by at least 20%. The isoenzyme forms of CYP450 in table 8 are: 1A2, 2B6, 2C8 or 9, 2C19, 2D6, 2E1 and 3A4, 5 or 7; these 7 isoenzyme forms account for >80% of phase 1 metabolism of all drugs that are orally administered to humans.

Table 9: Probability of any Hepatic Toxicity

Table 9 shows that COTI-217, COTI-220, COTI-219, COTI-2 and COTI-5 are not expected to cause Hepatic Toxicity.

MolID
FORMULA
ProbHepTox1
ProbHepTox2

COTI217
C17H22N6S
0.146
0.086

COTI220
C18H20N6S
0.082
0.47

COTI219
C17H18N6S
0.079
0.457

COTI2
C19H22N6S
0.065
0.371

COTI5
C20H24N6S
0.099
0.252

Legend for Table 9:

ProbHepTox1 is the average calculated probability from an ensemble of models that the drug in question will cause liver toxicity;

ProbHepTox2 is the average calculated probability from a second, different ensemble of models that the drug in question will cause liver toxicity.

Table 10: Probability of P-Glycoprotein Interaction

Table 10 shows that COTI-217, COTI-220, COTI-219, COTI-2 and COTI-5 are expected to inhibit P-glycoprotein (P-gp) enzyme activity. COTI-2 and COTI-5 may also be substrates for P-gp, whereas COTI-219 is relatively unlikely to be a substrate for P-gp. P-gp is a protein expressed by many cancer cells and is felt to contribute to cellular resistance to many cancer drugs. Ideally, an effective cancer drug would either not be a substrate for P-gp or would inhibit P-gp activity, thereby reducing the likelihood of P-gp related drug resistance.

MolID
FORMULA
Substrate
Inhibitor

COTI217
C17H22N6S
0.57
0.81

COTI220
C18H20N6S
0.62
0.87

COTI219
C17H18N6S
0.19
0.75

COTI2
C19H22N6S
0.79
0.9

COTI5
C20H24N6S
0.82
0.9

Legend for Table 10:

Table 10 represents the calculated probabilities from an ensemble of models that the drug in question will interact with P-glycoprotein (P-gp) as a substrate or inhibitor.

Table 11: Animal and Human Toxicity Predictions

Table 11 shows that COTI-217, COTI-220, COTI-219, COTI-2 and COTI-5 are expected to have low to moderate acute toxicity as measured by LD50 when given by the oral and intraperitoneal route.

Lower

Lower

ORL-
ORL-
IPR-
IPR-
MRTD
MRTD

MolID
FORMULA
LD50
LD50
LD50
LD50
mg/kg/day
mg/day

COTI217
C17H22N6S
609.7
192.8
139.6
44.2
2
120.5

COTI220
C18H20N6S
761.1
240.7
175.5
55.5
1.3
79.9

COTI219
C17H18N6S
1022
323.2
227.8
72
1.2
70.4

COTI2
C19H22N6S
842.8
266.5
195.3
61.8
1.6
99

COTI5
C20H24N6S
773.9
244.7
151.5
47.9
1.1
67

Legend for Table 11:

ORL-LD50 is the calculated point estimate of the dose of the drug in mg/kg that would cause death in 50% of healthy test lab rats when the drug is given orally;

LowerORL-LD50 is the calculated lower 95% confidence interval point estimate of the dose of the drug in mg/kg that would cause death in 50% of healthy test lab rats when the drug is given orally;

IPR-LD50 is the calculated point estimate of the dose of the drug in mg/kg that would cause death in 50% of healthy test lab mice when the drug is given intraperitoneally;

LowerORL-LD50 is the calculated lower 95% confidence interval point estimate of the dose of the drug in mg/kg that would cause death in 50% of healthy test lab mice when the drug is given intraperitoneally;

MRTDmg/kg/day is the calculated maximum recommended therapeutic daily dose of the drug in milligrams per kg per day for the average 60 Kg human adult;

MRTDmg/day is the calculated maximum recommended therapeutic daily dose of the drug in milligrams per day for the average 60 Kg human adult.

Table 12: Predicted hERG Interaction

Table 12 shows that COTI-217, COTI-220, COTI-219, COTI-2 and COTI-5 are expected to have hERG IC50 values of >1 μmol/l in keeping with a decreased risk of cardiac toxicity. In general, a hERG IC50 of <1 μmol/L would be associated with an increased probability of potential drug induced cardiac toxicity.

IC50

MolID
FORMULA
(μmol)
ProbIC50 > 1 μmol
ProbIC50 > 10

COTI217
C17H22N6S
2.6
0.88
0.06

COTI220
C18H20N6S
1.8
0.9
0.03

COTI219
C17H18N6S
2.2
0.92
0.04

COTI2
C19H22N6S
1.6
0.92
0.02

COTI5
C20H24N6S
0.6
0.79
0.04

Legend for Table 12:

IC50(μmol) is the calculated concentration of the drug that inhibits 50% of the activity of the hERG potassium channel and is an estimate of potential cardiac toxicity;

ProbIC50>1 μmol is the calculated probability that the IC50 for the drug with regards to the hERG potassium channel is greater than 1 μmol/L;

ProbIC50>10 μmol is the calculated probability that the IC50 for the drug with regards to the hERG potassium channel is greater than 10 μmol/L;

Table 13: Predicted Genotoxicity

Table 13 shows that COTI-2 and 219 are expected to have a negative AMES test and that COTI-217, COTI-220, COTI-219, COTI-2 and COTI-5 are not expected to cause Polyploidicity in the Guinea Pig cell model.

MolID
FORMULA
ProbAMES+
PolyPldy

COTI217
C17H22N6S
0.94
0.15

COTI220
C18H20N6S
0.06
0.16

COTI219
C17H18N6S
0.06
0.15

COTI2
C19H22N6S
0.06
0.16

COTI5
C20H24N6S
0.06
0.23

Legend for Table 13:

ProbAMES+ is the probability that the drug will induce a recognized gene mutation in a standard strain of cultured bacteria;

PolyPldy is the probability that the drug will induce polyploidicity (i.e. an increased/abnormal number of chromosomes) in cultered guinea pig cells.

Example 2
In Vitro Efficacy Against Various Cancer Cell Lines

To assess the efficacy of compounds according to the present invention in the treatment of cancer, in vitro activity expressed as IC50 (represents the concentration of an inhibitor that is required for 50% inhibition of its target, in nmol) was measured for several cancer cell lines using standard methods for such tests known to persons skilled in the art. Briefly, cells were plated in plastic tissue culture plates and grown under standard conditions for each cell line, in carbon dioxide/oxygen atmosphere in plastic tissue culture plates, in the presence of COTI-2 or COTI-219 compounds at 35° C. for 3 days. Control cultures were treated with vehicle minus compound. Cells were counted after 3 days in culture and at a cell density of no more than 80%. The following cell lines, obtained from the National Cancer Institute, were tested: human SCLC cell lines DMS153, DMS114, SHP77; human NSCLC cell lines H226, A460, A560; human breast cancer cell lines T47D, MCF₇; human colon cancer cell line HT29; and, human Leukemia cell lines K562, HL60. The results of these assays are presented in Table 14.

TABLE 14

in vitro IC50 against cancer cell lines

COTI-219 IC50

Cell Line
Tumor Type
COTI-2 IC50 (nM)
(nM)

SHP77
SCLC
156 +/− 8
787 +/− 61

DMS153
SCLC
73 +/− 9
233 +/− 39

DMS114
SCLC
51 +/− 9
267 +/− 40

H226
NSCLC
15000 +/− 1129
Not tested

A460
NSCLC
7900 +/− 620
Not tested

A549
NSCLC
6300 +/− 671
Not tested

T47D
Breast Cancer
221 +/− 12
367 +/− 44

MCF7
Breast Cancer
101 +/− 8
421 +/− 31

HT29
Colorectal Cancer
121 +/− 11
403 +/− 32

K562
Leukemia
176 +/− 22
222 +/− 28

HL60
Leukemia
236 +/− 9
374 +/− 46

Table 14 shows that both COTI-2 and COTI-219 possess potent activity in the low nanomolar range against SCLC tumor cell types, as well as several other tumor cell types such as breast cancer, colorectal cancer and Leukemia. Both drugs had an IC50 of less than 850 nM for the SHP77 cell line, which is known to be resistant to several conventional therapeutic agents. COTI-2 did not possess nanomolar level activity against NSCLC cell types and COTI-219 was not tested against those cell types. At least COTI-2 therefore exhibits selectivity in lung cancer treatment towards SCLC cell types. The in vitro data also confirms the in-silico predictions of efficacy, which estimated that less than 1 μM (1000 nM) would be required for efficacy in the SHP 77 and DMS114 cell lines.

Example 3
In Vivo Efficacy in SCLC Treatment

The nude mouse model of human SCLC was used to evaluate the in vivo efficacy of compounds of the present invention in comparison with several known chemotherapeutic agents. Nude mice were obtained form the National Cancer Institute and the SHP-77 human SCLC cell line was chosen for metastatic tumor xenografts. The control group consisted of 10 animals, each of which were administered bilateral thigh injections of a prescribed volume of tumor cells. There were 6 treatment groups, each containing 5 animals: COTI-2, COTI-4, COTI-219, Taxotere® (docetaxel), Cisplatin® (cis-diamminedichloroplatinum) and Tarceva® (erlotinib) The therapeutic agent was administered by intraperitoneal (IP) injection on alternate days beginning on Day 3 post tumor cell injection. Each animal in a treatment group was administered bilateral thigh injections with the same prescribed volume of tumor cells as the control animals. Treatment continued for 31 days, following which the animals were euthanized and tissues were collected for subsequent analysis. The final tumor size in mm³is reported in FIG. 1 and the number of tumors is reported in FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 1, compounds according to the invention showed a marked decrease in tumor growth as compared with both the control and conventional agents. Control animals produced tumors having a mean volume of 260+/−33 mm³. Animals treated with COTI-2 produced tumors of mean volume 9.9 mm³, while those treated with COTI-219 produced tumors having mean volume 53+/−28 mm³. This compared well with those treated with Cisplatin®, which produced tumors having means volume 132+/−26 mm³and those treated with Taxotere®, which produced tumors having mean volume 183 mm³. Animals treated with Tarceva® died before study conclusion at 31 days.

Referring to FIG. 2, compounds according to the invention showed a marked decrease in number of tumors as compared with both the control and conventional agents. Control animals produced an average of 0.9 tumors per injection site, whereas those treated with COTI-2 produced 0.28, those treated with COTI-219 produced 0.38, those treated with Cisplatin® produced 0.48 and those treated with Taxotere® produced 0.48 Animals treated with Tarceva® died before study conclusion at 31 days.

The above data show the efficacy of compounds according to the invention in vivo against SCLC cell lines. Furthermore, compounds according to the invention show better efficacy compared to conventionally administered therapeutic agents.

Example 4
In Vivo Effect of COTI-2 in SCLC Treatment on N417 Tumor Xenografts

Malignant N417 human SCLC cells in Matrigel™ were injected sub-cutaneously into hind legs of nude mice and xenograft tumors were allowed to grow to about 100 mm³. Mice were then administered daily intraperitoneal injections with indicated concentrations of COTI-2 (in isotonic saline, as a cloudy liquid, total volume of 1 ml per injection) for one week. Tumor volumes were estimated by caliper measurement. The results are shown in FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 3, tumor volumes were graphed as means±standard error (SE).

A significant difference in tumor growth was observed at all dosage levels. The decrease in efficacy seen at the 8 mg/kg level relative to other treatment levels is attributed to an error in solubilizing the compound, since a small amount of undissolved material was observed at the bottom of the treatment vial. Percentage values reported on FIG. 3 are for efficacy of the compound expressed in terms of inhibition of tumor growth according to the following formula:

(1−(Tf−Ti)/(Cf−Ci))*100

wherein Tf is the final tumor volume, Ti is the initial tumor volume at the onset of treatment, Cf is the final control tumor volume and Ci is the initial control tumor volume at the onset of treatment. Even when the 8 mg/kg dose is included, tumor growth inhibition of 30% or more was observed across all dosage levels. It is noted that the N417 cell line is generally regarded as the hardest SCLC cell line to treat. The compounds according to the invention therefore exhibit in vivo efficacy against a number of different SCLC cell lines.

Example 5
Resistance Testing

In order to evaluate the induction of resistance in vitro, compounds according to the invention were tested in head to head comparisons against conventional therapeutic agents Cisplatin® and Taxotere®. The compound designated COTI-4 (which is the subject of Applicant's co-pending U.S. provisional patent application entitled “Composition and Method for Treatment” filed Dec. 26, 2007) was also tested. The structure for COTI-4 is:

embedded image

IC50 values were obtained using methods known to persons skilled in the art with two different human SCLC cell lines (DMS153 and SHP77) obtained from the National Cancer Institute. The surviving 50% of cells from the initial IC50 tested were harvested and cultured for 5 days, after which time this new generation of cells was re-treated with the same agent and a new IC50 value was established. The procedure was repeated for a total of 5 generations. Emerging resistance was identified by increasing IC50 values in successive generations. The results are shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 (DMS153 and SHP77 cell lines, respectively), where the ordinate axis is provided in terms of the ratio of the IC50 value to the IC50 value of the parental generation.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, both COTI-2 and 219 exhibited little to no emerging resistance over 5 generations. This was in marked contrast to the conventional therapies Cisplatin® and Taxotere® (labeled Paclitaxel in the figures), which showed significant increases in IC50 for both cell lines. The SHP77 cell line in particular is known to be resistant to conventional agents; however, neither COTI 2 nor 219 showed any tendency towards resistance in this cell line. In fact, COTI-2 demonstrated a statistically significant tendency to decrease resistance (IC50's less than 1 for successive generations) in both cell lines. COTI-2 therefore exhibits a collateral sensitivity whereby the resistance of cells is decreased over successive generations and the drug might actually become more effective over time against these cell lines. This corroborates the in-silico predictions for COTI-2 and 219; COTI-2 was predicted to be a strong P-glycoprotein inhibitor, which is consistent with decreasing the tendency towards drug resistance, whereas COTI-219 was predicted to be both a P-glycoprotein inhibitor and/or a weak substrate for P-glycoprotein, also consistent with minimal accumulation in resistance over successive generations. The in-silico predictions for resistance profile of compounds according to the invention are therefore confirmed by these assays.

Example 6
In Vitro Efficacy in Brain Cancer

In order to determine the efficacy of the present invention against human Glioma and Astrocytoma cell lines, IC50 values were determined by in vitro assay of four malignant human brain cancer cell lines (U87MG, grade III glioblastoma/astrocytoma; SNB-19, glioma/astrocytoma Grade IV, glioblastoma multiforme; SF-268, glioma; SF-295, glioma). Human brain cancers are notoriously difficult to treat.

Cell lines were obtained from the Human Tissue Culture Collection (ATCC), grown and maintained under ATCC-specified conditions, and tested to ensure viability and lack of contaminating mycoplasma and common viruses. Healthy cells were plated in 96-well culture plates in medium plus fetal bovine serum and allowed to adhere for 16 h, followed by addition of COTI-2, COTI-219, Cisplatin®, or BCNU (1,3-Bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea) at multiple concentrations ranging from those that had no effect on proliferation to those that inhibited proliferation by 90% or more. A viability stain (alamar Blue) was added to cells after 4-7 days of drug exposure (approximately 4 doublings of control cells; maximum cell density in wells approximately 80%), and assayed for total cellular metabolic activity (a function of population density of live cells) by absorbance. Concentrations of the agent required to inhibit proliferation by 50% (IC50 value) were derived by interpolation of plotted data (mean values derived from 3 independent experiments±standard error). Results are reported in Table 15.

TABLE 15

IC50 values for Human Glioma/Astrocytoma cell Lines

COTI-2
COTI-219
Cisplatin
BCNU

Cell Line
(nM)
(nM)
(nM)
(nM)

U87
48 +/− 9
2370 +/−
490 +/− 9
1520 +/− 130

SNB-19
8 +/− 3
1990 +/−
870 +/− 40
2250 +/− 700

SF-268
66 +/− 8
1170 +/− 80
Not tested
Not tested

SF-295
184 +/− 23
2390 +/−
Not tested
Not tested

At least the COTI-2 compounds were shown to have better efficacy against glioma/astrocytoma cell lines as compared with the conventional agents Cisplatin® and BCNU. COTI-2 showed an order of magnitude greater efficacy than Cisplatin® against U87 and two orders of magnitude greater efficacy against SNB-19. These results show that at least COTI-2 compounds have efficacy against glioma/astrocytoma cell lines.

Example 7
In Vivo Effect of COTI-2 on Cancerous Brain Tumours

Malignant U87 human glioma (brain tumour) cells in Matrigel™ were injected subcutaneously into hind legs of nude mice, allowed to grow to 200-300 mm³, then treated 3 times per week (Mon, Wed, Fri) with indicated concentrations of COTI-2 (in isotonic saline, as a cloudy liquid, total volume of 1 ml per injection). Tumour volumes were estimated by caliper measurement. The results are shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B.

In FIG. 6A, tumour volumes were graphed as means±standard error (SE) (n=11-14 for each data point). The asterisk indicates a significant difference (p<0.05) between the 8 mg/kg treatment group and both the saline control and 4 mg/kg treatment groups. There was no significant difference between the 4 mg/kg group and the saline control group.

In FIG. 6B, tumour volumes were graphed as fractional increase in volume, to correct for differences in starting volume, ±SE. The asterisk indicates a significant difference (p<0.05) between the 8 mg/kg treatment group and both the saline control and 4 mg/kg treatment groups. There was no significant difference between the 4 mg/kg group and the saline control group. The flag ( custom character ) indicates a significant difference between the 8 mg/kg group and the saline group, but not between the 8 mg/kg group and the 4 mg/kg group.

FIGS. 6A and 6B show that compounds of the present invention are effective in the treatment of established human brain tumors. The compounds delayed tumor growth by about 25% at a dosage of 8 mg/kg given just three times per week. Although no significant effect was observed at a dosage of 4 mg/kg, more frequent administration may have produced a significant effect at this dosage.

Example 8
Toxicity Testing

An escalating dose acute toxicity study was conducted with COTI-2, COTI-4 and COTI-219. Standard lab mice were divided into four treatment groups (control, 4, 8, 16 mg/kg) with four animals per group. It should be noted that the highest dose was approximately 10 times the estimated effective dose. Mice were given alternate day IP injections for 28 days. Weight loss/gain of the mice was measured and the mice were observed for adverse effects such as vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, etc. Blood and tissue samples were harvested for histopathology. None of the drugs produced any weight loss at any of the administered doses over the entire 28 day period. No evidence of acute toxicity was obtained and no adverse effects were observed. The compounds according to the present invention are therefore believed to be safe and non-toxic.

Example 9
In Vitro Metabolic Stability in Human Liver Microsomes

To evaluate the stability of these compounds in terms of clearance by the liver, human liver microsomes (HLM) at a concentration of 0.5 mg/ml were incubated with 0.823 mM NADPH, 5 mM UDPGA, 1 mM MgCl₂and COTI-2 or 219 at concentrations of 1, 10 and 100 μM. Sampling was conducted at 1, 20, 40, 60, 120, 180 and 240 minutes and the remaining concentration of each compound was evaluated. A half life (T_1/2) was calculated at each concentration, along with the rate of clearance by the liver (C_L). The results are provided in Table 16 for each compound. The C_Lvalues compare favorably with published values for other marketed therapeutic agents under identical conditions. The half life of compounds according to the invention is therefore likely to be long enough to permit convenient dosing, while not being so long as to lead to accumulation in patients with potential long term toxicity effects.

TABLE 16

Half-life and Liver Clearance Rate by HLM at 0.5 mg/mL

Compound
Concentration (μM)
T_1/2(min)
C_L(μL/min/mg)

COTI-2
1
102.1
12

10
285.7
4

100
683.1
2

COTI-219
1
301.2
4.2

10
420.7
3

100
508.5
2.5

The average half life for COTI-2 was 6 hours and for COTI-219 was 6.8 hours. The in-silico prediction for CL in the 95% confidence interval was from 3.1-14.3 for COTI-2 and from 1.4-6.6 for COTI-219; this compares well with the data presented in Table 3.

Example 10
Mechanism of Action

Without wishing to be limited by theory, it is believed that molecules according to the present invention, particularly COTI-2, act in the treatment of cancer in a manner consistent with the following mechanistic observations. The following observations were obtained using gene expression profiling techniques and targeted in vitro testing. Molecules of the present invention are believed to function as kinase inhibitors. Molecules of the present invention are also believed to function as promoters of apoptosis. Promotion of apoptosis is achieved by decreasing phosphorylation of Caspase 9; this has the effect of increasing active Caspase 9 and inducing apoptosis via Caspase 3.

To confirm this mechanism SHP77 cells were treated with 250 nM of COTI-2 and incubated for 3 and 6 hours. Western blots of the cellular lysates are presented in FIG. 7. Phospho-Akt expression was decreased as compared to control at both 3 and 6 hours, with corresponding increases in Akt levels. There was no change in phospho-STAT3 expression, although a slight decrease in total STAT3 (˜30%) was observed at 6 hrs. There was no observed reactivation of Caspase 8; its level of expression remained constant in treated and control cells. However, the most dramatic change was a profound suppression of phospho-Caspase 9 at both 3 and 6 hrs of incubation. These results confirm the proposed mechanism of action.

Example 11
In-Silico Comparative Data

The in-silico model was used to test properties of compounds described in PCT Publication No. WO2006/009765: NSC716768, NSC73306, NSC73303, NSC668496, and NSC693323. Compounds JBC271A, JBC271B (Journal of Biological Chemistry 271, 13515-13522 (1996)) and JICS75 (Journal of the Indian Chemical Society, 75, 392-394 (1998) and Journal of the Indian Chemical Society, 72, 403-405 (1995)) are as follows:

embedded image

Results of in-silico testing are shown in Tables 17 to 20. The legends for these tables correspond to those of Example 1, except where indicated, and the methodology used to create the Tables was identical.

Tables 17A and 17B: Physical Chemical Properties

Table 17 shows that all tested compounds are drug like with no alerts for poor absorption or bioavailability.

TABLE 17A

MolID
FORMULA
MolWeight
MnLogP
HBnd Don
HBnd Acc

NSC716768
C17H20N6O4S
404.449
2.082079
2
10

NSC73306
C16H12Cl2N4O2S
395.268
3.155598
3
6

NSC73303
C15H12N4OS
296.352
2.564086
3
5

NSC668496
C15H18N4OS
302.4
2.541123
2
5

NSC693323
C14H24N6S2
340.516
2.39891
2
6

JBC271A
C8H12N4O2S2
260.338
0.257966
2
6

JBC271B
C9H14N4O2S2
274.365
0.542592
1
6

JICS75
C11H19N3OS
241.357
1.600519
1
4

TABLE 17B

Lipinski

MolID
FORMULA
TPSA
RotBnds
Alerts
Veber

NSC716768
C17H20N6O4S
112.7027
7
0
0

NSC73306
C16H12Cl2N4O2S
75.9848
5
0
0

NSC73303
C15H12N4OS
67.0547
4
0
0

NSC668496
C15H18N4OS
57.597
3
0
0

NSC693323
C14H24N6S2
54.972
7
0
0

JBC271A
C8H12N4O2S2
66.5271
3
0
0

JBC271B
C9H14N4O2S2
57.0694
3
0
0

JICS75
C11H19N3OS
36.4161
3
0
0

Table 18: Solubility Properties

Table 18 shows that all tested compounds have acceptable and comparable solubility with the COTI compounds except for NSC73306 which would be expected to have very poor water solubility.

MolID
FORMULA
MnLogP
LogS

NSC716768
C17H20N6O4S
2.082079
−3.46551

NSC73306
C16H12Cl2N4O2S
3.155598
−5.76993

NSC73303
C15H12N4OS
2.564086
−3.7869

NSC668496
C15H18N4OS
2.541123
−3.87371

NSC693323
C14H24N6S2
2.39891
−3.27041

JBC271A
C8H12N4O2S2
0.257966
−1.76143

JBC271B
C9H14N4O2S2
0.542592
−1.83773

JICS75
C11H19N3OS
1.600519
−2.45438

Table 19: Efficacy (LogGI50)

Table 19 shows that all tested compounds except for NSC693323 are predicted to be inactive against human SCLC cell lines DMS114 and SHP-77 in vitro. Therefore, there is no rationale for use of any of the tested compounds except for NSC693323 as therapeutic agents in the treatment of SCLC. NSC693323 has an average GI50 of −6.3. By comparison, COTI-2 has LOG(GI50) for DMS114 determined in vitro of −7.2 to −7.4, representing ˜10 times better in vitro efficacy than the predictions for NSC693323

Mean Over

NCI/DTP

DMS

Pre-
60 cell

MolID
FORMULA
114
SHP-77
dicted
line panel

NSC716768
C17H20N6O4S
<−6
<−6
Inactive
−4.7

NSC73306
C16H12Cl2N4O2S
<−6
<−6
Inactive
−4.9

NSC73303
C15H12N4OS
<−6
<−6
Inactive
ND

NSC668496
C15H18N4OS
<−6
<−6
Inactive
−6.1

NSC693323
C14H24N6S2
<−6
<−6
Active
−6.3

JBC271A
C8H12N4O2S2
<−6
<−6
Inactive
ND

JBC271B
C9H14N4O2S2
<−6
<−6
Inactive
ND

JICS75
C11H19N3OS
<−6
<−6
Inactive
ND

Legend for Table 19:

Mean Over NCI/DTP 60 cell line panel is the mean of the GI50's for all 60 cell lines NOT including DMS114 and SHP-77;

ND means not done/not available.

Table 20: Oral Absorption and BBB Penetration

Table 20 shows that all tested compounds are predicted to have good oral absorption with variable to poor CNS penetration. The only potentially active drug, NSC693323, likely penetrates into the CNS poorly.

TABLE 20A

Mn %

HIA-

MolID
FORMULA
OrlAbs
Min % Abs
T2(MD)

NSC716768
C17H20N6O4S
86.33807
71.33807
3.556507

NSC73306
C16H12Cl2N4O2S
73.43512
58.43512
2.075257

NSC73303
C15H12N4OS
88.14632
73.14632
0.078544

NSC668496
C15H18N4OS
87.81207
72.81207
0.055115

NSC693323
C14H24N6S2
84.59752
69.59752
0.097439

JBC271A
C8H12N4O2S2
80.28443
65.28443
2.273772

JBC271B
C9H14N4O2S2
84.04259
69.04259
2.267253

JICS75
C11H19N3OS
91.74003
76.74003
2.023605

TABLE 20B

BBB-

MolID
FORMULA
ProbBBBPene
LogBBB
T2(MD)

NSC716768
C17H20N6O4S
0.009519
<<−1.00
9.681481

NSC73306
C16H12Cl2N4O2S
0.051291
−0.1554
4.758413

NSC73303
C15H12N4OS
0.359669
−0.41974
1.216003

NSC668496
C15H18N4OS
0.306419
−0.26927
0.426904

NSC693323
C14H24N6S2
0.265543
−0.24742
0.294411

JBC271A
C8H12N4O2S2
0.818135
−1.12483
3.888207

JBC271B
C9H14N4O2S2
0.806343
−0.91155
3.439832

JICS75
C11H19N3OS
0.840636
−0.25614
1.981566

Example 12
AKT Kinase Activity Inhibition

Methods

Cell Lines

DMS-114 and SHP-77 SCLC cell lines were routinely grown in RPMI media supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum and antibiotics to prevent bacterial growth, and maintained by twice-weekly passaging at a ratio of 1:3. Typically, 0.5−1.0×10⁶cells were incubated with COTI-2 or an equivalent volume (2-5 μL) of DMSO to observe changes in Akt activity or gene expression.

Measurement of Akt Kinase Activity

Cells were incubated in 10 cm dishes with DMSO or 250 nM of COTI-2 for 2, 4, 8, 16, or 24 hrs after which kinase activity was measured with a non-radioactive Akt kinase kit (cat #9840) from Cell Signaling. Briefly, after lysing the cells in a protein non-denaturing buffer, Akt is immunoprecipitated with immobilized antibody. The kinase reaction catalyzed by immunoprecipitated Akt consists of in vitro phosphorylation of supplemented recombinant GSK-3, a natural in vivo Akt substrate, in the presence of added ATP. The amount of phosphorylated GSK-3 is determined by western blot analysis with phospho-GSK-3αβ (Ser21/9) antibody.

Measurement of Total Akt by Western Blot Analysis

Duplicate 10 cm tissue culture dishes seeded with 0.5-1.0×10⁶cells were incubated with 250 nM of COTI-2 for 0, 2, 4, 8, 16, 24, 48, and 96 hrs. Cell viability was determined at 24, 48, and 96 hrs by the trypan exclusion method. Whole cell lysates were prepared using standard procedures and fifty micrograms of lysate protein was separated on SDS-PAGE gels and analyzed by western blotting.

Results and Discussion

COTI-2 is an Inhibitor of Akt Kinase Activity in SCLC Cell Lines

Incubation of DMS-114 and SHP-77 cells with 250 nM of COTI-2 resulted in a time-related decrease in Akt kinase activity starting at 2 hrs and extending over the 24 hrs duration of the experiment. In DMS-114 cells the kinase activity was below the threshold for measurement at 8 hrs and remained significantly lower relative to the control group at 24 hrs (FIG. 8). In SHP-77 cells there was a more gradual decrease in kinase activity over the course of the experiment, with a tendency for the activity to return towards control levels after 24 hrs of incubation (FIG. 8). In both cell lines, total Akt protein decreased after 24 hrs of incubation with COTI-2, analogous to the changes in kinase activity observed at this time (FIG. 9). Cell viability assays using trypan blue exclusion confirmed that this dose of COTI-2 effectively kills up to 80% of the original tumor cells within four days of incubation. These results indicate that COTI-2 inhibits Akt kinase activity either by preventing activation of Akt (directly or indirectly) or by preventing Akt from activating its downstream target(s).

Example 13
mTOR-Rictor Complex Formation

Mechanism of COTI-2 Apoptosis in SCLC Cells: Evidence from Kinase Experiments and Transcriptome Analysis

In order to confirm the involvement of AKT in COTI-2 induced apoptosis, proteomic analyses of time-dependent changes in AKT kinase activity and AKT phosphorylation was performed using 2 SCLC cell lines (DMS114 and SHP77). Furthermore, to identify additional mechanistic targets for this compound, microarray experiments were followed by differential gene expression analysis. In summary, the results showed that, in response to COTI-2, AKT is down-regulated at the gene expression, whole protein, and kinase levels, thus showing that this critical cellular regulator is a direct/indirect target for COTI-2. Furthermore, the down-regulation of mTOR-Rictor, proposed to phosphorylate AKT at Ser473 site, by COTI-2 provides additional evidence for the proposed mechanism of action of this compound.

Methods:

Cell Lines:

DMS114 and SHP77 cell lines were routinely grown in RPMI media supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum and antibiotics to prevent bacterial growth, and maintained by twice-weekly passaging at a ratio of 1:3. Typically, 0.5-1.0×10⁶cells were incubated with COTI-2 or an equivalent volume (2-5 μl) of DMSO to observe changes in AKT activity or gene expression.

Measurement of AKT Kinase Activity:

Cells were incubated in 10 cm dishes with DMSO or 250 nM of COTI-2 for 2, 4, 8, 16, or 24 h after which kinase activity was measured with a non-radioactive AKT kinase kit (cat #9840) from Cell Signaling. Briefly, after lysing the cells in a protein non-denaturing buffer, AKT was immunoprecipitated with immobilized antibody. The kinase reaction catalyzed by immunoprecipitated AKT consists of in vitro phosphorylation of supplemented recombinant GSK-3, a natural in vivo AKT substrate, in the presence of added ATP. The amount of phosphorylated GSK-3 was determined by western blot analysis with phospho-GSK-3αβ(Ser21/9) antibody.

Measurement of Total Akt by Western Blot Analysis:

Duplicate 10 cm tissue culture dishes seeded with 0.5-1.0×10⁶cells were incubated with 250 nM of COTI-2 for 0, 2, 4, 8, 16, 48, and 96 h. Cell viability was determined at 24, 48, and 96 h by the trypan exclusion method. Whole cell lysates were prepared using standard procedures and 50 μg of lysate protein was separated on SDS-PAGE gels and analyzed by western blotting.

Microarray Experiments:

For each cell line, four sets of microarray experiments were performed, with each set consisting of control and treated cells exposed for 6 h either to DMSO or COTI-2 at 150 or 300 nM total concentration. Total RNA was prepared with RNeasy (Qiagen) and converted to Cy3 or Cy5-labelled cRNA according to procedures provided with the linear amplification kit from Agilent Technologies. Two hundred micrograms of labeled cRNA were hybridized to 4×44K Agilent whole genome microarrays, the arrays were washed, scanned and relevant features were extracted according to the manufacturer's protocol and further analyzed as described by Wolber et al. (Methods in Enzymology 410:28-57), which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Gene Expression Analysis:

Cy5 and Cy3 features were extracted and normalized by median centering the expression values relative to the median value of the 8 hybridization experiments performed on each microarray slide. Thus, for each gene, 4 control and 4 treatment values (two each for 150 and 300 nM) were obtained. Quality control (QC) reports showed that data was of good quality and spot saturation or abnormal features were seldom observed. Statistically significant changes in gene expression between treatment and control groups were determined by SAM analysis using TIGR software from The Institute of Genomic Research or by t tests with false discovery correction. Only genes that were differentially expressed in all 4 biologically-independent groups were further analyzed. (An independent analysis of gene expression at the lower 150 nM level of COTI-2 yield additional results reflecting changes in gene expression at this lower concentration). Gene ontology analysis of the differentially expressed genes was performed as previously described (Bioinformatics 8: 426). Statistical analysis of ontology-based gene overrepresentation between DMS114 and SHP77 cell lines was performed as described by Al Sharour et al. (Nucleic Acids Res. 35: W91-W96). The intersection of common genes was determined using GeneVenn (http://mcbc.usm.edu/genevenn/genevenn.htm). Network analysis was performed as described by Rhodes et al. (Natl Biotechnol. 23: 951-959) and Franke et al. (Am J Hum Genet. 78: 1011-1025) Overrepresentation of transcription factor binding sites in the promoters of up- or down-regulated genes was calculated as described by Ho Sui et al. (Nucleic Acids Res. 33: 3154-3164).

Results and Discussion:

The AKT kinase activity was determined by measuring the phosphorylation of GSK-3, which is a downstream target of activated AKT. Incubation of DMS114 and SHP77 cells with 250 nM of COTI-2 resulted in a time-related decrease in AKT activity starting at 2 h and extending over the 24-h duration of the experiment (FIG. 8). In DMS114 cells, the kinase activity was below the threshold for measurement at 8 h and remained significantly lower relative to the control group at 24 h. In SHP77 cells, there was a more gradual decrease in kinase activity over the course of the experiment, with a tendency for the activity to return towards control levels after 24 h of incubation. In both cell lines, total AKT protein decreased after 24 h of incubation with COTI-2, analogous to the changes in kinase activity observed at this time (FIG. 9).

The transcriptional activity of DMS114 and SHP77 cell lines were documented following a 6-h incubation with COTI-2 (150 or 300 nM) or vehicle only control. A number of genes were differentially regulated in both cell lines (FIG. 10). Of particular interest, the AKT gene expression data (FIGS. 11A-11B) is consistent with the observed down-regulation of AKT protein observed by western blot analysis (FIG. 9), and the down-regulation of Rictor (FIG. 11C) is also consistent with the observed decreased AKT kinase activity (FIG. 8). Interestingly, the analysis of the promoters of the differentially regulated genes indicates an over-representation of promoters regulated by the forkhead family of transcriptional factors. These data provide additional evidence for AKT as the target of COTI-2, since AKT inactivates these transcriptional factors via phosphorylation; therefore, the inactivation of AKT by COTI-2 would expectedly lead to the dysregulation of genes regulated by the forkhead transcription factors.

Example 14
COTI-2 Induced Apoptosis does not Involve Downregulated PI3K Activity but is Associated with Decreased mTOR Activation

This determined whether COTI-2 interfered with the upstream regulators of AKT, namely PI3 kinase I, PDK1, and mTOR-Rictor complexes (“PDK2” activity). Four cancer cell lines, A549 & H460 (NSCLC) and DMS114 & SHP77 (SCLC) were utilized.

Methods:

Cells were grown to 60-80% confluency in RPMI media supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum and antibiotics to prevent bacterial growth. 1×10⁶cells were incubated with 100, 250, 500, or 1000 nM COTI-2 either for 4 h, to observe the effect on kinase-mediated events, or for 24 h, to observe the effect on the levels of pro/anti-apoptotic molecules. As a negative control, an equivalent volume of DMSO was utilized. Whole cell lysates were prepared using standard procedures and 50 μg of lysate protein was separated on SDS-PAGE gels and analyzed by western blotting. To measure PI3-K activity, a commercial kit was purchased from Echelon. Following the procedures recommended by the manufacturer, membrane lipids were extracted in several steps and the resulting PIP3 was immobilized to nitrocellulose and measured by its interaction with a PH-domain containing protein and HRP-conjugated antibody supplied with the kit. As an additional control in these experiments, the specific PI3-K inhibitor, LY294002 was used to inhibit PI3-K and thus stop PIP3 production.

To determine the effect of 250 nM concentration of COTI-2 on PI3-K activity, cells grown to 60-80% confluence in 10 cm cell culture dishes were treated with COTI-2 or an equivalent volume of DMSO. In addition, controls were pre-incubated with 50 μM of the PI3-K inhibitor LY294002 for 15 minutes prior to the addition of COTI-2. Treatment with COTI-2 lasted for 20 minutes after which the cells were processed for PIP3 detection according to Echelon's protocol.

Results and Discussion:

COTI-2 has Minimal Effect on PI3-K Activity in SCLC Cells:

To determine the effect of COTI-2 on PI3K activity, both DMS114 and SHP77 cells were grown and exposed to 250 nM COTI-2 alone, 250 nM COTI-2+LY294002, or DMSO (solvent) alone. Subsequently, the PIP3 levels were detected. The PIP3 levels are an indication of the activity of PI3K since PI3K converts inactive PIP2 to active PIP3, which is then able to bring Akt and its activators (PDK1 and PD1(2) into close proximity in the cell membrane. As expected, the results indicated that in the presence of the PI3K-inhibitor, LY204002, there was little detectable PIP3 in DMS114 cells (FIG. 12). However, LY204002 did not inhibit PI3K activity in SHP77 cells since approximately 14 pmol of PIP3 was detected. This data can be explained by the non-specificity of LY204002 for PI3K, since this inhibitor was shown to inhibit PI3K-related kinases, for example mTOR (EMBO J 15: 5256-5267 and Cancer Research 59: 2581-2586). Alternatively, it is also possible that PI3-K is mutated in this cell line and thus unable to respond to the inhibitor as well as to COTI-2. Several mutations that abolish PI3-K activity have been described and are catalogued in the human protein mutation database MutDB (http://mutdb.org/). Nevertheless, COTI-2 alone did not inhibit PI3K activity as indicated by the PIP3 levels in both DMS114 and SHP77 cell lines (FIG. 12). In fact, there was a small increase in PI3K activity in DMS114 cells as evidenced by approximately 25% increase in activity. This data is also consistent with the hypothesis that AKT is the direct or indirect target of COTI-2 because inhibiting AKT results in the inhibition of its downstream targets mTORC1 and S6K (S6 kinase 1), which are involved in a negative-feedback loop that blocks signaling to PI3K (Biochem. Soc. Trans. 37: 217-222). Therefore, the inhibition of AKT prevents the activation of the negative-feedback loop and allows the increased activity of PI3K.

In conclusion, since COTI-2 does not act on PI3K, it does not inhibit AKT via upstream regulation. COTI-2 therefore seems to prevent the activation of AKT through direct interaction.

COTI-2 Impairs mTOR Activation and Decreases Phospho-Thr308 Levels of PKB/Akt:

Four cancer cell lines, namely A549 & H460 (NSCLC) and DMS114 & SHP77 (SCLC), were treated for 4 h with various concentrations of COTI-2 or DMSO (solvent). Similar levels of total mTOR, before and after incubation with COTI-2, were observed in A549, H460, and DMS114 cell lines (FIG. 13). In SHP77 cells, more than in the other cell lines, a higher order complex that reacted positive with mTOR antibody, but not with other antibodies, accumulated at the bottom of the loading wells and was not resolved by SDS-PAGE. Presumably because of this, less mTOR was detected at the appropriate molecular weight on the western blot. One possible interpretation of this finding is that in this cell line, COTI-2 could preferentially bind to mTOR or to one of its complexes with Rictor, Raptor, or other proteins, resulting in large protein aggregates that may be functionally impaired. Consistent with this, the level of mTOR phospho-Ser2448 that is necessary for mTOR activity was also reduced in this cell line. Taken together with previous results showing that COTI-2 decreases phospho-Ser473 levels of PKB/Akt, these findings suggested that in SCLC cells, COTI-2 inhibits mTOR activity, and consequently the activity of PKB/Akt. PKB/Akt phospho-Thr308 levels decreased in A549 cells (and to a lesser extent in SHP 77 cells, shown by the asterisk) after incubation with COTI-2.

These experiments provide further evidence that COTI-2 acts to inhibit Akt phosphorylation through mTOR-Rictor complex formation.

Example 15
Synergistic Effect with mTOR Inhibitors

Effects of Temsirolimus and Rapamycin on the Cytotoxicity of COTI-219 and COTI-2 Against the Human Glioblastoma Cell Line U87

In vitro IC50 values were obtained for combinations of compounds of the present invention with temsirolimus or rapamycin in the treatment of U87 glioblastoma cells. Temsirolimus and rapamycin both inhibit proliferation of human U87 glioblastoma cells, as single agents (FIG. 14). FIG. 14 shows the typical dose-response of U87 cells to temsirolimus or rapamycin. Both inhibit proliferation of these cells with increasing concentration. Over triplicate experiments: IC₅₀(Temsirolimus)=3.6 μM±1.4 μM and IC₅₀(Rapamycin)=9.9 μM±1.8 μM.

It was found that both temsirolimus and rapamycin, in combination with COTI-219, exert greater-than-additive growth inhibitory effects on U87 cells. Both temsirolimus and rapamycin, in combination with COTI-2 (at COTI-2 concentrations less than the IC50), exert some greater-than-additive growth inhibitory effects on U87 cells.

In Combination with COTI-219, Temsirolimus Had a Greater-than-Additive Inhibitory Effect on Proliferation of U87 Glioblastoma Cells

Temsirolimus was provided in liquid form from the London Regional Cancer Program (LRCP) Pharmacy. COTI-219 was prepared as a 50 mM stock in DMSO, then diluted to 10 mM in DMSO followed by serial dilution water for addition to medium overlaying cells. Cells were incubated with temsirolimus in combination with COTI-219 for 4 days (in wells of 96 well plates) followed by analysis of live cell density using the fluorescent vital stain alamarBlue.

Referring to FIG. 15, relative cell density was plotted against concentration of COTI-219, normalized to the inhibitory effect of temsirolimus alone (this ranged from 20-30% inhibition at very low concentrations to 80-90% inhibition at the higher end of concentrations used in this study). Thus, data points indicating proliferation less than control values indicate greater-than-additive inhibition of proliferation by COTI-219 plus temsirolimus. All data points are means±SEM (n=6). Error bars are, in every case, smaller than the size of the symbol.

Temsirolimus (10 nM or greater) plus 0.1 μM COTI-219 had greater-than-additive inhibition of proliferation. All temsirolimus concentrations plus 0.5 or 1.0 μM COTI-219 had greater-than-additive effects.

In Combination with COTI-219, Rapamycin Had a Strongly Greater-than-Additive Inhibitory Effect on Proliferation of U87 Glioblastoma Cells

Rapamycin was prepared by crushing and extracting a tablet (supplied from the LRCP Pharmacy) with DMSO, followed by centrifugation to remove particulate matter. COTI-219 was prepared as a 50 mM stock in DMSO, then diluted to 10 mM in DMSO followed by serial dilution water for addition to medium overlaying cells. Cells were incubated with rapamycin in combination with COTI-219 for 4 days (in wells of 96 well plates) followed by analysis of live cell density using the fluorescent vital stain alamarBlue.

Referring to FIG. 16, relative cell density was plotted against concentration of COTI-219, normalized to the inhibitory effect of rapamycin alone (this ranged from 20-30% inhibition at very low concentrations to 80-90% inhibition at the higher end of concentrations used in this study). Thus, data points indicating proliferation less than control values indicate greater-than-additive inhibition of proliferation by COTI-219 plus rapamycin.

All data points are means±SEM (n=6). Error bars are, in every case, smaller than the size of the symbol.

Rapamycin (5 μM or greater) plus 0.1 μM COTI-219 had greater-than-additive inhibition of proliferation. All rapamycin concentrations plus 0.5 or 1.0 μM COTI-219 had greater-than-additive effects.

In Combination with COTI-2, Temsirolimus Had a Greater-than-Additive Inhibitory Effect on Proliferation of U87 Glioblastoma Cells

Temsirolimus was provided in liquid form from the LRCP Pharmacy. COTI-2 was prepared as a 50 mM stock in DMSO, then diluted to 10 mM in DMSO followed by serial dilution water for addition to medium overlaying cells. Cells were incubated with temsirolimus in combination with COTI-2 for 4 days (in wells of 96 well plates) followed by analysis of live cell density using the fluorescent vital stain alamarBlue.

Referring to FIG. 17, relative cell density was plotted against concentration of COTI-2, normalized to the inhibitory effect of temsirolimus alone (this ranged from 20-30% inhibition at very low concentrations to 80-90% inhibition at the higher end of concentrations used in this study). Thus, data points indicating proliferation less than control values indicate greater-than-additive inhibition of proliferation by COTI-2 plus temsirolimus.

All data points are means±SEM (n=6). Error bars are, in every case, smaller than the size of the symbol.

Temsirolimus (100 nM or greater) plus 10 nM COTI-2 had greater-than-additive inhibition of proliferation. All temsirolimus concentrations plus 25, 50, or 75 nM COTI-2 had greater-than-additive effects.

In Combination with COTI-2, Rapamycin Had Either a Greater-than-Additive Inhibitory Effect or a Potentially Antagonistic Effect, at High Concentration, on Proliferation of U87 Glioblastoma Cells

Rapamycin was prepared by crushing and extracting a tablet (supplied from the LRCP Pharmacy) with DMSO, followed by centrifugation to remove particulate matter. COTI-2 was prepared as a 50 mM stock in DMSO, then diluted to 10 mM in DMSO followed by serial dilution water for addition to medium overlaying cells. Cells were incubated with rapamycin in combination with COTI-2 for 4 days (in wells of 96 well plates) followed by analysis of live cell density using the fluorescent vital stain alamarBlue.

Referring to FIG. 18, relative cell density was plotted against concentration of COTI-2, normalized to the inhibitory effect of rapamycin alone (this ranged from 20-30% inhibition at very low concentrations to approximately 50% inhibition at the higher end of concentrations). Thus, data points indicating proliferation less than control values indicate greater-than-additive inhibition of proliferation by COTI-2 plus rapamycin.

All data points are means±SEM (n=6). Error bars are, in every case, smaller than the size of the symbol.

All concentrations of rapamycin plus 10 or 25 nM COTI-2 resulted in greater-than-additive inhibition of proliferation. High rapamycin concentration (15 μM) may have antagonized COTI-2 when COTI-2 was used at concentrations of 50 nM or higher. COTI-2 (50 nM or higher) had additive or greater-than-additive effects with rapamycin (10 μM or lower).

In conclusion, these experiments show that synergistic improvements in efficacy are obtained for combinations of mTOR-Raptor inhibitors, such as temsirolimus and rapamycin, with mTOR-Rictor inhibitors, such as COTI-2 and COTI-219, in the treatment of cancer, particularly cancers that are treatable by mTOR inhibitors.

Example 16
Synergistic Effect with Cytotoxic Agents

A synergistic effect or greater than additive benefit may be observed when compounds described herein are administered in combination with other anti-cancer agents, in particular cytotoxic agents such as cisplatin, carboplatin and paclitaxel (see FIGS. 19-22). In FIG. 19, SHP 77 cells were treated with Taxol™ at the concentrations shown or with Taxol™ plus COTI-2 (31 nM, which, as a single agent, reduces proliferation by 25%). The combination of COTI-2 and Taxol™ has a greater-than-additive effect (indicated by differences between data points at each concentration) where indicated by asterisks. In FIG. 20, DMS114 cells were treated with Taxol™ at the concentrations shown or with Taxol™ plus COTI-2 (31 nM, which, as a single agent, reduces proliferation by 25%). The combination of COTI-2 and Taxol™ has a greater-than-additive effect (indicated by differences between data points at each concentration) where indicated by asterisks. In FIG. 21, DMS114 cells were treated with cisplatin (CDDP) at the concentrations shown or with CDDP plus COTI-2 (31 nM, which, as a single agent, reduces proliferation by 25%). The combination of COTI-2 and CDDP has a greater-than-additive effect (indicated by differences between data points at each concentration) where indicated by asterisks.

In FIG. 22, SHP 77 cells were treated with cisplatin (CDDP) at the concentrations shown or with CDDP plus COTI-2 (73 nM, which, as a single agent, reduces proliferation by 25%). The combination of COTI-2 and CDDP has a greater-than-additive effect (indicated by differences between data points at each concentration) where indicated by asterisks. In FIG. 23,

SHP 77 cells were treated with carboplatin at the concentrations shown or with carboplatin plus COTI-2 (73 nM, which, as a single agent, reduces proliferation by 25%). The combination of COTI-2 and carboplatin has a greater-than-additive effect (indicated by differences between data points at each concentration) where indicated by asterisks. In FIG. 24, DMS114 cells were treated with carboplatin at the concentrations shown or with carboplatin plus COTI-2 (73 nM, which, as a single agent, reduces proliferation by 25%). The combination of COTI-2 and carboplatin has a greater-than-additive effect (indicated by differences between data points at each concentration) where indicated by asterisks.

In conclusion, these experiments show that synergistic improvements in efficacy are obtained for combinations of cytotoxic agents, such as cisplatin, carboplatin and paclitaxel, with mTOR-Rictor inhibitors, such as COTI-2 and COTI-219, in the treatment of various cancer cell lines, particularly those cell lines treatable by cytotoxic agents.

Example 17
Additive Effect with Certain Anti-Cancer Agents

For the combination of COTI-2 and certain anti-cancer agents, an additive effect is observed. As shown in FIGS. 25-28, Gemcitabine and Vinorelbine had an additive effect. Gemcitabine is a pyrimidine analog antimetabolite and is not known to be an mTOR-Raptor complex inhibitor. Vinorelbine does not have a major effect on either the Akt pathway or mTOR signaling pathways. No antagonistic drug interactions were observed. The lack of synergy with these agents supports the earlier mechanistic observations, which indicate that compounds of the present invention have synergy when combined with drugs that affect the Akt pathway, such as the mTOR-Raptor inhibitors, but not necessarily those that function by other pathways.

Example 18
In Vitro Activity of COTI-2 and COTI-219 as Combination Agents with Erlotinib and Cetuximab

The therapeutic effects of COTI-2 and COTI-219 were evaluated as single agents and in combinations with the commercially available anti-cancer agents erlotinib (Tarceva®) and cetuximab (Erbitux®) in colorectal cancer and NSCLC cell lines (Table 21).

Methods:

Cell Lines—HT29, HCT116, H292, and H1975:

A 50-mM stock of COTI-2 or COTI-219 was formulated by dissolving an appropriate amount in DMSO. The stock concentration was further diluted to 1 mM and added to a drug plate. In the drug plate, the 1 mM COTI-2 and COTI-219 were serially diluted 10-fold in DMSO. Following dilution, 2 μl of test agent was transferred to the corresponding wells of a cell-containing 96-well plate with 198 μl of growth media. Tarceva® (erlotinib) was supplied by LC Labs (Woburn, Mass.). Erbitux® (cetuximab) was supplied by ImClone (New York, N.Y.). Cells were treated 24 h after plating with vehicle, COTI-2 (concentrations between 0.01 μM-10 μM), Tarceva® (concentrations between 0.1 μM-100 μM), or Erbitux® (concentrations between 1×10⁻¹¹mg/ml [0.1 fM]-0.1 mg/ml [0.7 nM]). For combination studies, a fixed concentration of Tarceva® or Erbitux® and varying concentrations of COTI-2 or COTI-219 were used.

Cells were grown to 70% confluency, trypsinized, counted, and seeded in 96-well flat-bottom plates at a final concentration of 2.5×10³-5×10³cells/well (Day 0). Cells were allowed to incubate in growth media for 24 h to allow for maximum adhesion. Treatment with COTI-2 or COTI-219 or standard agents (Tarceva® & Erbitux®) began on Day 1 and continued for 72 h without re-treatment. At the 72-h time-point, treatment-containing media was removed. Viable cell numbers were quantified by the CellTiter-Blue® cell viability assay, which measures the conversion of the indicator dye (resazurin) to resorufin, an indicator of cell viability. Experiments were repeated at least twice with the same concentrations to determine growth inhibitory activity. Results from these studies were used to calculate an IC₅₀value (concentration of drug that inhibits cell growth by 50% of control) for each compound.

Cell Lines—COLO-205, HCT15, and SW620:

The capacity of COTI-2 or COTI-219 to reduce tumor cell proliferation, alone or in combination with Tarceva® or Erbitux® was assessed in all 3 human colon tumor cell lines. The 3 cell lines were treated as follows:

Day 1: Cells were Plated in 96-Well Flat Bottom Plates (VWR, Mississauga, ON, Canada) and Allowed to Adhere Overnight.

Day 2: Addition of COTI-2, COTI-219, Tarceva®, Erbitux®, or combinations thereof. Stock solutions of COTI-2 and COTI-219 were prepared as described above (i.e., solid material was dissolved in DMSO to yield a 50 mM stock; 50 mM stock was serially diluted in DMSO to yield solutions such that, when 2 μl was added to wells in a 96 well plate, the desired concentrations of COTI compounds in a total volume of 200 μl media surrounding treated cells was achieved). All treated and control cells were, therefore, exposed to a 1% DMSO concentration plus the desired concentration of COTI-2.

Tarceva® (erlotinib) was manufactured by LC Labs (Woburn, Mass.) and Erbitux® (cetuximab) was manufactured by ImClone (New York, N.Y.). Both Erbitux® and Tarceva® were provided by the London Regional Cancer Program Pharmacy. All cell lines were treated with a range of Erbitux® or Tarceva® concentrations to determine, where possible, IC₅₀values. Erbitux® concentrations up to 0.1 mg/ml had no significant effect, as a single agent, on any of the cell lines tested. For combination studies, therefore, 0.1 mg/ml Erbitux® was the single concentration chosen to combine with various concentrations of COTI-2 to assess combinatorial effects on growth. Tarceva® concentrations up to 10 μM were not sufficient to reduce growth of COLO-205 or SW620 by 50% over the 4 day assessment of the study (i.e., not sufficient to reach an IC₅₀). The highest concentration of Tarceva® that did not significantly affect growth of each of these cell lines were: COLO 205, 10 μM Tarceva®; and, SW620, 5 μM Tarceva®. Therefore, these concentrations were chosen to combine with various concentrations of COTI-2 or COTI-219 to assess combinatorial effects on growth.

Combination Studies:

For combination studies, a fixed concentration of Tarceva® or Erbitux® and varying concentrations of COTI-2 and COTI-219 were used. The fixed concentration of Tarceva® and Erbitux® used varied depending on the cell lines as mentioned above. In some cell lines the IC₃₀concentration was used, whereas in others the highest concentration that did not significantly affect growth was used. After the Tarceva® or Erbitux® were added to the cells, varying concentrations of COTI-2 or COTI-219 were added to generate a dose-response curve. The concentration of COTI-2 or COTI-219 at which 50% of the cells were inhibited was recorded as the combination IC₅₀and is reported in Tables 22 to 25.

Results and Discussion:

Test Compounds as Single Agents:

As single agents, both COTI-2 and COTI-219 showed potent activity in all seven tumor cell lines tested. Tarceva® single agent treatment in the H292 EGFR wild-type cell line resulted in sub-micromolar activity. However, fractional activity was seen in the EGFR mutant NSCLC cell line, H1975 (Tables 22 and 24), indicating that the T790M mutation in this cell line is conferring resistance against Tarceva®, as documented above. Furthermore, Tarceva® exhibited very low activity against the colon cancer cell lines regardless of their KRAS status. No dose response was detected for Erbitux in this assay even at concentrations >0.1 mg/ml (Tables 23 and 25).

Combination treatment with COTI-2 and Tarceva® resulted in a combination index of 1 (additive) against the H292 cell line, and a combination index of <1.0 (synergism) in the EGFR mutant NSCLC cell line, H1975 (Table 22). These data provide strong evidence for the effectiveness of COTI-2 against cell lines with EGFR mutations that confer resistance to tyrosine kinase inhibitors. In fact, COTI-2 increases the inhibitory activity of Tarceva® in combination therapy regardless of EGFR status of the cell lines. Furthermore, the combination of COTI-2 and Tarceva® was synergistic (CI<1.0) for the remaining three colorectal cancer cell lines (COLO-205, HCT-15, and SW620), regardless of KRAS status (Table 22). Similarly, the combination treatment of COTI-219 and Tarceva resulted in a combination index of <1.0 (synergism) regardless of the KRAS mutation status (Table 24).

Combination treatment of COTI-2 with Erbitux® resulted in positive interactions against all the colorectal cancer cell lines (HT29, COLO-205, HCT-15, HCT116 and SW620), indicating a combination index of <1.0 (synergism) (Table 23). Evidence indicates that the KRAS mutation status is a strong predictor for the outcome of Erbitux® therapy in colon cancer (103). Consequently, the data from this study provide evidence that COTI-2 in combination with Erbitux® rescues the acquired resistance conferred by KRAS mutations. Furthermore, as a single agent COTI-2 is highly effective against these cell lines regardless of KRAS mutation status. The combination of COTI-219 and Erbitux® yielded similar results, such that a synergistic activity was observed (combination index <1.0) regardless of the KRAS mutation status of the cell lines tested (Table 25).

In conclusion, both COTI-2 and COTI-219 displayed a potent single agent activity against 7 human tumor cell lines. Combination interaction assessment showed positive combination interaction for COTI-2 and COTI-219 in combination with Tarceva® or Erbitux®.

TABLE 21

Cell Lines.

Tissue

Cell line
Type
Histology
EGFR status
KRAS status

COLO-205
Colon
C
WT
WT

HT-29
Colon
AC
WT
WT

HCT-15
Colon
AC
WT
Mut

(G13D)

HCT-116
Colon
AC
WT
Mut

(G13D)

SW620
Colon
AC
WT
Mut

(G12V)

H292
NSCLC
C
WT
WT

H1975
NSCLC
AC
Mut
WT

(L858R, T790M)

TABLE 22

Mean IC₅₀for COTI-2, Tarceva ®, and Combinations.

Com-

Tissue
Test
bination
Standard
CI at IC₅₀

type &
Agent
COTI-2 +
Agent
COTI-2 +

Cell
EGFR/
COTI-2
Tarceva ®
Tarceva ®
Tarceva ®

Line
KRAS status
(nM)
(nM)
(nM)
(nM)

H292
NSCLC
3.9
70.0
20.0
1.0

EGFR-WT

(Additive)

H1975
NSCLC
10.0
40.0
>100,000
<1.0

EGFR-MUT

(Synergism)

COLO-
Colon
4.7
4.0
>10,000
<1.0

205
KRAS-WT

(Synergism)

HCT-15
Colon
8.3
3.8
5,100
<1.0

KRAS-MUT

(Synergism)

SW620
Colon
165.0
90.0
>10,000
<1.0

KRAS-MUT

(Synergism)

TABLE 23

Mean IC₅₀for COTI-2, Erbitux ®, and Combinations.

Tissue
Test
Combination
Standard
CI at IC₅₀

type &
Agent
COTI-2 +
Agent
COTI-2 +

Cell
EGFR/
COTI-2
Erbitux ®
Erbitux ®
Erbitux ®

Line
KRAS status
(nM)
(nM)
(mg/ml)
(nM)

HT-29
Colon
200.0
6.4
>0.1
<1.0

KRAS-WT

(Synergism)

COLO-
Colon
4.7
3.0
>0.1
<1.0

205
KRAS-WT

(Synergism)

HCT-15
Colon
8.3
4.0
>0.1
<1.0

KRAS-MUT

(Synergism)

HCT-
Colon
3.6
4.1
>0.1
<1.0

116
KRAS-MUT

(Synergism)

SW620
Colon
165.0
82.0
>0.1
<1.0

KRAS-MUT

(Synergism)

TABLE 24

Mean IC₅₀for COTI-219, Tarceva ®, and Combinations.

Test

Tissue
Agent
Combination
Standard
CI at IC₅₀

type &
COTI-
COTI-219 +
Agent
COTI-219 +

Cell
EGFR/
219
Tarceva ®
Tarceva ®
Tarceva ®

Line
KRAS status
(nM)
(nM)
(nM)
(nM)

H292
NSCLC
20.0
100.0
20.0
<1.0

EGFR-WT

(Synergism)

H1975
NSCLC
100.0
700.0
>100,000
<1.0

EGFR-MUT

(Synergism)

COLO-
Colon
4.3
2.0
>10,000
<1.0

205
KRAS-WT

(Synergism)

HCT-15
Colon
5.1
2.4
5,100
<1.0

KRAS-MUT

(Synergism)

SW620
Colon
7.4
3.1
>10,000
<1.0

KRAS-MUT

(Synergism)

TABLE 25

Mean IC₅₀for COTI-219, Erbitux ®, and Combinations.

Test

Tissue
Agent
Combination
Standard
CI at IC₅₀

type &
COTI-
COTI-219 +
Agent
COTI-219 +

Cell
EGFR/KRAS
219
Erbitux ®
Erbitux ®
Erbitux ®

Line
status
(nM)
(nM)
(mg/ml)
(nM)

HT-29
Colon
7.4
30.0
>0.1
<1.0

KRAS-WT

(Synergism)

COLO-
Colon
4.3
2.0
>0.1
<1.0

205
KRAS-WT

(Synergism)

HCT-15
Colon
5.1
3.1
>0.1
<1.0

KRAS-MUT

(Synergism)

HCT-
Colon
8.7
300.0
>0.1
<1.0

116
KRAS-MUT

(Synergism)

SW620
Colon
7.4
2.8
>0.1
<1.0

KRAS-MUT

(Synergism)

Combination indexes (CIs) are described by Chou and Talalay (Trends Pharmacol. Sci. 4, 450-454), which is incorporated herein by reference. The CI, a numerical value calculated as described in equation A, also provides a quantitative measure of the extent of drug interaction. A CI of less than, equal to, and more than 1 indicates synergy, additivity, and antagonism, respectively.

CI=(C_Ax/IC_x,A)+(C_B,x/IC_x,B) Equation A

Where C_A,xand C_B,x, are the concentrations of drug A and drug B used in combination to achieve x % drug effect. IC_x,Aand IC_x,Bare the concentrations for single agents to achieve the same effect.

Example 19
Akt as a Biomarker for COTI-2 Efficacy

It was previously demonstrated that COTI-2 interferes with the function of AKT in SCLC cell lines, by down-regulating AKT transcription as well as producing a functional impairment of AKT kinase activity. Therefore, the aim of the current set of experiments was to determine the extent of the correlation between the expression of total AKT, its isoforms (AKT1, 2, & 3), and susceptibility to COTI-2 apoptosis.

Methods:

Tissue Culture:

Cell cultures were maintained under regular tissue culture conditions and passaged 1-2 times a week as recommended by ATCC. For siRNA experiments the manufacturer's conditions for growth and transfection were followed. All siRNA reagents for AKT and AKT2 transfections were obtained from Cell Signaling.

Cells were treated for 48 h with 0-100 ng of AKT or AKT2 siRNA before incubation with COTI-2 at various concentrations (0-500 nM). Following incubation for 48 h, cell viability was determined by MTT assay.

Western Blotting:

Routine laboratory methods were employed for the production of cellular lysates, protein quantification, SDS-PAGE and western blotting. All antibodies were obtained from Cell Signaling and Abcam. To determine total AKT & AKT2 in DMS114 cells, 5×10⁴cells were incubated for 48 h with 10-100 ng of AKT2 siRNA or a scrambled control oligonucleotide. Cells were lysed and 50 μg of protein was separated by SDS-PAGE and blotted with antibody to total AKT or AKT2.

Results and Discussion:

The expression of AKT1, AKT2, AKT3, total AKT and β-actin were examined in a panel of cell lines representing various types of cancers, with the aim of determining if a correlation exists with the pre-determined IC50's for these cell lines. As shown in FIG. 33, when corrected for total AKT expression, only AKT2 expression was statistically significantly and inversely correlated to the COTI-2 IC50 for this panel of cell lines. In order to confirm that AKT2 expression is needed for COTI-2 induced apoptosis, DMS114 and SHP77 cell lines were treated for 48 h with 0-100 ng of AKT or AKT2 siRNA before incubation with 500 nM of COTI-2 (FIG. 34). Both total AKT and AKT2 siRNA in the absence of COTI-2 caused significant apoptosis of DMS114 cells indicating that the siRNA functions as expected. The viability of DMS114 cells incubated with AKT siRNA in the presence or absence of COTI-2 is unchanged, thus indicating that AKT and more specifically AKT2 is the cellular target of COTI2. If COTI-2 had an alternate target, one would expect differential cell death in the presence and absence of COTI-2. The down-regulation of AKT2 prior to the addition of COTI-2 was confirmed with western blotting in DMS114 cell lines using an antibody to AKT2 (FIG. 35). Overall, these data indicate that in the absence of its cellular target (AKT2) which was knocked-down by siRNA specific for AKT2, COTI-2 was unable to exert additional significant cytotoxicity on the cell lines.

Similar results were obtained with SHP77 cell lines, such that no significant difference in cell death was observed when the cells were treated with total AKT or AKT2 siRNA in the presence or absence of COTI-2 (FIG. 36). Therefore, total AKT and AKT2 siRNA abrogates COTI-2 induced apoptosis in SHP77 cells. Furthermore, transfection with 100 nM of AKT2 siRNA, but not with total AKT siRNA, caused significant apoptosis in SHP77 cell lines (FIG. 37).

The phospho-AKT status at Ser473 was determined in the presence of COTI-2 utilizing western blotting. A profound inhibition of AKT Ser473 phosphorylation is noticeable at 2 h, the earliest time-point following incubation with 250 nM COTI2 (FIG. 38). These data were confirmed using 2 different antibody preparations from Cell signaling and Abcam. The inhibition of AKT phosphorylation at Ser473 correlates with the reduction in the phosphorylation of GSK-3α/β (pSer21/9), which is a downstream target of activated phospho-AKT. Therefore, these data indicate that AKT is the cellular target of COTI-2, since COTI-2 prevents phospho-activation of AKT and consequently AKT is unable to phospho-inhibit its downstream target, GSK-3α/β at Ser21/9. The complete time course of the AKT phospho-Ser473 status in DMS114 and SHP77 cells during incubation with COTI-2 is documented in FIG. 39.

A complex relationship exists between Raptor- and Rictor-containing mTor complexes mTORC1 and mTORC2, respectively, and AKT. mTORC2 activates AKT by Ser473 phosphorylation; in turn, activated AKT phosphorylates TSC2, which prevents its interaction with Rheb and thus the hydrolysis of GTP associated with Rheb. As a result, Rheb-GTP activates mTOR by phosphorylation on Ser2448. These events suggest that COTI-2, by inhibiting the formation of active phospho-Ser473 AKT, would also lead to a decrease in mTOR phospho-Ser2448 phosphorylation, as less Rheb-GTP becomes available, due to its increased sequestration in complexes with TSC2. The results shown in FIGS. 40-45 agree with this hypothesis. In DMS114 cells incubated with COTI-2 there is an initial decrease in phospho-Ser 2448 at 2 hrs followed by a more sustained decrease at 24 and 48 hrs. In SHP77 cells, only the decrease at 2 hrs of incubation was observed. Interestingly, in both cell lines there is a delayed effect that impairs the autophosphorylation of mTOR on Ser2481. This event was shown to be wortmannin sensitive but a direct connection between inhibition of PI3K and impaired mTOR phospho-Ser2481 has not been demonstrated (J Biol Chem, 275: 7416-7423). Surprisingly, a strong but transient increase in PTEN phospho-Ser380 was observed in DMS114 cells. Phosphorylation of the PTEN C terminal was reported to stabilize PTEN and protect against ubiquitin-mediated degradation (Nat Rev Cancer, 6: 184-192). One implication of this observation is that COTI-2 may activate PTEN and thus, by reducing the amount of PIPS, contribute to the inhibition of AKT activity.

These experimental results provide yet further evidence that the cellular target of COTI-2 is AKT, specifically AKT2, and that COTI-2 is likely implicated in mTOR-Rictor complex formation.

Example 20
PTEN siRNA Knockdown in Human Tumor Cell Lines (HeLa and MCF-7) Results in Increased Resistance to COTI-2

The activation of Akt is negatively regulated by the tumor suppressor PTEN (phosphatase with tensin homology), which is a lipid phosphatase, therefore, inactivation of PTEN by siRNA results in increased levels of active Akt. In order to further investigate whether Akt is the likely target of COTI-2, the susceptibility to killing by COTI-2 was evaluated in 2 human tumor cell lines (HeLa and MCF-7) transfected with PTEN siRNA. Previous work has demonstrated that increased PTEN activity reduces Akt activity, and knockdown of PTEN has been shown to increase Akt activity in human tumour cells (Cancer Cell, 12:395-402). Therefore, if Akt is the target for COTI-2, then it is expected that increased levels of Akt resulting from PTEN siRNA inactivation will cause increased resistance to COTI-2. Transfected cells were confirmed by western blot analysis and reverse transcription PCR were grown and proliferation assessed in the presence or absence of COTI-2.

Methods:

Briefly, HeLa and MCF-7 cells were transfected with 100 nM PTEN siRNA or control non-targeted siRNA at 48 or 144 h prior to exposure to various concentrations of COTI-2.

Western Blot Analysis:

Tranfected HeLa cells were confirmed by western analysis as described. Western blot analysis of extracts from HeLa cells transfected with non-targeted (−) or targeted (+) siRNA (Cell Signaling Technologies, Inc., SignalSilence PTEN siRNA, human-specific; and control, non-targeted SignalSilence siRNA from the same manufacturer). PTEN was detected using the PTEN Antibody #9552, and p42 was detected using the p42 MAPK Antibody #9108. The PTEN Antibody confirms silencing of PTEN expression, and the p42 MAPK Antibody is used to control for loading and specificity of PTEN siRNA (data obtained from Cell Signaling Technology website, http://www.cellsignal.com/products/6251.html). Since PTEN siRNA was capable of downregulating PTEN protein in HeLa cells (supported by data generated by Cell Signaling Technologies, Inc.), PTEN siRNA and non-targeting control siRNA used for the experiments described below were obtained from New England Biolabs Ltd. (Ontario, Canada).

Effect of COTI-2 on Cell Proliferation:

To assess the capacity of transient siRNA transfection to alter the ability of cells to proliferate in the presence or absence of COTI-2, HeLa or MCF-7 cells (both PTEN-positive) were plated in T25 flasks and transfected 24 h later with PTEN siRNA or non-targeting control siRNA (100 nM in both cases), using Oligofectamine Reagent (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer's instructions and as previously described (J Pharmacol Exp Ther, 322:123-132). In brief, siRNA:Oligofectamine Reagent complexes were formed in DMEM without FBS, then serially diluted to generate desired transfection concentrations. siRNA complexes in DMEM were added to HeLa or MCF-7 cells grown to 50 to 60% confluence. PTEN and 18S rRNA mRNA levels were determined by semi-quantitative reverse transcription PCR. PTEN primers were: PTEN forward (5′CCACCACAGCTAGAACTTATC3′; PTEN reverse (5′ATCTGCACGCTCTATACTGC3′). GAPDH primers were as described previously (J Pharmacol Exp Ther, 322:123-132). The reverse transcription/PCR method was as described in the same publication. The ratio of PTEN mRNA/18S rRNA for untransfected cells was normalized to 100% and all other PTEN mRNA/18S rRNA ratios were reported as a percent of that 100% value.

For determination of drug sensitivity, HeLa and MCF-7 cells (transfected with PTEN siRNA or control, non-targeted siRNA 48 or 144 hours prior) were re-plated in 96-well plates (VWR, Mississauga, ON, Canada) at 1700 (MCF-7) and 1200 (HeLa) cells per well in a volume of 100 μl of DMEM+10% FBS. Cells were allowed to adhere to tissue culture plastic for 18 h before addition of COTI-2M05 at various concentrations. COTI-2 was added in a volume of 100 μl (from a stock DMSO/DMEM solution) so that the final DMSO concentration on cells was less than 0.1%. Cells were then grown for 4 days, and viable cell numbers were assessed by the alamar Blue fluorescence assay using a Wallac Victor²multilabel counter (PerkinElmer Wallac, Gaithersburg, Md.). For each concentration of COTI-2M05, proliferation was defined as the “number of viable cells transfected with PTEN siRNA, expressed as a % of the number of viable cells transfected with control, non-targeting siRNA”. This calculation method corrected for minor effects of PTEN knockdown alone on growth rate and/or cell viability.

Statistical Analysis:

Data are presented as means±S.E. To determine the significance of differences between means, a Student's t test was performed. The level of significance for all statistical analyses was chosen a priori to be p<0.05.

Results and Discussion:

Western blot analysis of HeLa transfected with targeted (+) and non-targeted (−) siRNA confirm that the PTEN siRNA specifically knocks-down the expression of PTEN (FIG. 44). Furthermore, reverse transcription PCR analysis indicated that PTEN siRNA transfection knocked down PTEN mRNA levels by a maximum of approximately 90% in HeLa cells (FIG. 45A) and 70% in MCF-7 cells (FIG. 45B), by 48 h post-transfection. By 114 h (6 days post-transfection), PTEN levels had recovered to control values in both HeLa (FIG. 45A) and MCF-7 (FIG. 45B) cells (in accord with the capacity the mRNA levels of the cells to recover from targeting siRNAs). These data show that the transfection of both cells lines with PTEN siRNA was specific and by 114 h the inhibitory effect of the PTEN siRNA no longer exists.

The tranfected cells were then analyzed for their susceptibility to killing by COTI-2 using the alamar Blue fluorescence assay described previously. The transfection of cells with PTEN siRNA resulted in a significant increase in the resistance of both cell lines (HeLa and MCF-7) to COTI-2 at 48 h post-transfection (FIGS. 46A & 46B, respectively). By 144 h post-transfection there is no significant difference in the killing of cells tranfected with PTEN siRNA or non-targeted siRNA. These data are consistent with the recovery of normal PTEN mRNA levels by 144 h (refer to FIGS. 45A and 45B). The increased resistance to COTI-2 in the 2 PTEN-positive human tumor cell lines (HeLa and MCF-7) after siRNA knockdown of PTEN and presumed increased Akt activity is consistent with the hypothesis that Akt is a direct or indirect target of COTI-2 in human tumor cells. The multiple confirmations of Akt, and particularly Akt2, as the molecular target of the compounds of the present invention, particularly COTI-2, indicate that these compounds should be effective in the treatment of cancers characterized by over-expression of Akt. Compounds of the present invention are presumed to be efficacious in the treatment of all cancers characterized by overexpression of Akt, in particular those cancers in addition to lung cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, cancer of CNS, skin cancer, prostate cancer, sarcoma, breast cancer, leukemia, colorectal cancer, head cancer, neck cancer or kidney cancer, which are already listed above.

Example 21
Sensitivity of Human Tumour Cell Lines (H226 NSCLC and HL-60 Promyelocytic Leukemia) and Normal Primary Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs) to COTI-2

The IC₅₀of COTI2-M05 was determined against normal human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) as an indication of the toxicity of the compound against healthy non-cancerous cells. Both human promyeloctic leukemia human (HL-60) and human NSCLC (H226) cell lines were used as a comparator against the PBMCs.

Methods:

All cell lines were grown and exposed to various concentrations of COTI-2 or vehicle only control and the percentage of dead or dying cells were determined 24 and 48 h post-exposure by Annexin V and propidium iodide.

Tumour Cell Lines and Primary Non-Tumour Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells:

HL-60 (human promyelocytic leukemia) cells were grown as non-adherent cells in flasks in RPMI 1640 medium supplemented with 10% FBS. H226 (human non-small cell lung cancer) cells were grown in Eagle's MEM supplemented with 10% FBS. Both cell lines were obtained from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC)(Rockville, Md.) and maintained at 37° C. in a humidified 5% CO₂atmosphere.

Blood samples from 2 healthy human volunteers (male, 22 years of age; female, 23 years of age) were obtained in 5 ml Vacutainersi® containing 100 USP sodium heparin (Becton Dickinson, Franklin Lake, N.J.) and rocked gently to mix, then kept at room temperature. Blood was diluted 1:1 with phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and layered over an equal volume of room temperature Histopaque-1083® (Sigma Diagnostics, St. Louis, Mo.) in a 15 ml conical bottom polyethylene (PET) centrifuge tube (Corning Corporation, Corning, N.Y.). This was centrifuged at 400×g for 30 minutes at 20° C. (no brake), to allow separation of mononuclear cells from whole blood. The serum layer was removed by Pasteur pipette and discarded. The mononuclear cell layer at the top of the Histopaque was removed by Pasteur pipette and placed in 15 ml PET centrifuge tube. Cells were washed twice with 10 ml PBS, with centrifugation at 250×g for 15 minutes (maximum brake) to precipitate cells away from the PBS wash fluid. The pellet was suspended in 37° C. RPMI 1640 media (Gibco BRL, Grand Island, N.Y.) with or without 10% fetal bovine serum (Gibco BRL, Grand Island, N.Y.), depending on experimental requirements.

Flow Cytometric Analysis of Cell Death:

Cells were plated in 25-cm²flasks and treated with COTI-2 (0-100 μM) added from a stock DMSO/DMEM solution such that DMSO concentrations never exceeded 0.5%. Control cells were treated with stock DMSO/DMEM. At 24 and 48 h after addition of drug or control (vehicle alone), supernatant medium (containing all HL-60 cells or any non-adherent H226 cells or non-tumour primary peripheral blood mononuclear cells) was collected into 13 ml conical centrifuge tubes. Remaining adherent cells were rinsed with ice-cold PBS, trypsinized, and added to the non-adherent fraction. Cells were centrifuged (100×g for 10 min at 4° C.), washed once more in ice-cold PBS, re-precipitated by centrifugation, and re-suspended (1000 cells per μl) in binding buffer (140 mM NaCl₂, 2.5 mM CaCl₂, 10 mM HEPES). Resuspended cells (100 μl) were incubated in the dark with 10 μl propidium iodide (PI, 50 ng per ml; Sigma, St. Lous, Mo.) plus Annexin V-FITC (25 ng per ml, green fluorescence; BD Biosciences, Mississauga, Ontario). The Annexin V-positive cells indicate dying or apoptotic cells and dead cells, whereas the propidium iodide stains for dead cells. Samples were analyzed for combined Annexin V/PI staining (to assess dead plus apoptotic cells) using a Beckman Coulter EPCS XL-MCL flow cytometer (Beckman Coulter, Hileah, Fla.) and the data were analyzed with CellQuest software.

Results and Discussion:

The H226 promyeloctic leukemia cell lines were chosen for this study since they exhibited the least sensitivity of the panel of human tumor cell lines previously tested for sensitivity to growth inhibition by COTI-2. The induction of apoptosis and death in approximately 40% of these cells at 48 h after treatment with 15 μM of COTI2-M05 is consistent with the previously determined IC₅₀(FIG. 47). Similarly, induction of greater than 30% death at 24 h and greater than 70% death at 48 h in HL-60 cells after treatment with 200 nM of COTI-2 is consistent with our previous report of an IC₅₀for HL-60 cells of 236 nM (±9) (FIG. 47).

PBMCs from healthy adult human male and female subjects were more than 500-fold less sensitive than HL-60 cells (derived from human monocytes) to death induction by COTI2-M05 (FIG. 47). The healthy PBMCs were exposed to COTI2-M05 at a concentration of 100 μM, which is the maximum practical concentration to which these normal mononuclear cells could be exposed. At this concentration, COTI-2 induced some cell death in male and female PBMCs compared to vehicle only controls, however, this concentration was less than the IC₅₀of these cells (i.e., IC₅₀>100 μM). Furthermore, compared to H226 cells, normal PBMCs were 6- to 7-fold less sensitive to death induction by COTI-2 (FIG. 47).

In conclusion, these experiments indicate that normal differentiated human cells were much less sensitive than human tumor cells to apoptotic death by COTI2-M05. One limitation of these experiments is that immortalized human tumor cell lines (HL-60 & H226) capable of ex vivo proliferation were compared against non-immortalized human PBMCs that are not capable of ex vivo growth under the conditions used. Interestingly, despite this limitation, we see a significant difference in cell death in tumor cell lines relative to non-tumor healthy cells.

Example 22
Molecular Target Validation for COTI-219 in SCLC Cell Lines

Gene expression profile/MPM analysis of the molecular pathways responsible for COTI-2,9-induced apoptosis in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) cell lines identified several potential targets for this compound. The principal aim of the experiments described here was to provide validation for these targets and further help define the mechanism of action of COTI-219. siRNA technology was used to knock-down Ras, Bim, CDK2, Egfr, Erbb2, Erk1/2, and PKC-α, in 2 SCLC cell lines, namely DMS114 and SHP77.

Methods:

In brief, cells DMS114 and SHP77 cells were transfected with gene specific siRNA in the presence or absence of COTI-219 and cell viability determined after 24 to 48 h post-incubation using the trypan blue exclusion method.

Tissue Culture and siRNA Experiments:

Cell cultures were maintained under regular tissue culture conditions and passaged 1-2 times a week as recommended by ATCC. With the exception of the siRNA for Bim (Signal Silence Bim siRNA kit #6460 from Cell Signaling), all other siRNA reagents for gene knock-down experiments was obtained from Ambion (Silencer Negative Control #1 siRNA #AM4611, CDK2 Silencer Select #s204, HRAS Silencer Select #s807, Protein kinase C alpha Silencer Validated #301, MAPK3/Erk Silencer Pre-designed #214749, EGFR Silencer Select #s563, and ERBB2 Silencer Select #s611). Initially, the manufacturer's suggested conditions for transfection were followed but the extent of knock-down obtained was in some cases poor and unsuitable for drug target validation experiments. The tranfection method required optimization such that a knock-down of the target gene greater than ˜75% was achieved and confirmed by western blot analyses. In some cases, siRNA concentrations up to 100 nM were required to produce a useful degree of target knock-down. Furthermore, for some siRNA's useful target knock-downs were achieved by forward transfection protocols while for others reverse transfection was necessary. For forward transfection protocols, up to 2.0×10⁵cells were plated overnight, followed by incubation with the siRNA reagent for an additional 48 hrs. In reverse transfection protocols ˜0.1×10⁵cells were incubated with the siRNA reagent at the time of plating, omitting the 24 h pre-plating step. For each siRNA used in the gene knock-down experiments the transfection protocol was optimized with respect to the number of cells, amount of siRNA and transfection method so that a knock-down of the target gene >75% was achieved. Following an optimal knock-down level at >75%, 2×10⁵cells were incubated with 500 nM COTI-219 and number of viable cells was measured at 48 h.

Cell Viability and Western Blotting:

Cell viability assays were performed 24 to 48 h following incubation with COTI-219 by the trypan blue exclusion method using a Beckman-Coulter Vi-CELL XR 2.03 automated cell counter. Routine laboratory methods were employed for the production of cellular lysates, protein quantitation, SDS-PAGE and western blotting. All antibodies were obtained from Cell Signaling (Erk1/2 #4695, Ras #3965, CDK2 #2546, PKCalpha #2056, EGFR #2232, and ERBB2 #2165). A Student's T-test was used to compare control and COTI-219 treated cells in order to determine a significant difference (p<0.01).

Cell Cycle Analysis:

Approximately 2×10⁵DMS114 cells were incubated for 24 h with the indicated concentrations of COTI-219. Following incubation with COTI-219 the cells were washed and re-suspended in 0.5 ml of BP Pharmingen Propidium Iodide staining solution (Cat. No. 556463) for FACS analysis in order to determine the changes in the cell cycle.

Results and Discussion:

The tranfection method required optimization such that a knock-down of the target gene greater than ˜75% was achieved and confirmed by western blot analyses. Representative western blot analysis of DMS114 and SHP77 cells transfected with gene-specific siRNA or scrambled control siRNA after 48 h incubation are illustrated in FIG. 48 in order to demonstrate the extent of down-regulation of target genes obtained. Notably, Egfr and Erbb2 expression was very low in DMS114 cells, but SHP 77 cells express robust levels of these proteins.

FIG. 48 shows representative western blot analysis of DMS114 and SHP77 cells transfected with gene-specific siRNA or scrambled control oligonucleotide for 48 h. Actin control blots (not shown) demonstrated that similar amounts of protein were loaded. SC-CT, scrambled control oligonucleotide; D, DMS114; S, SHP77; f, forward and r, reverse transfection protocols.

Following optimization of siRNA transfection, cells were incubated for 48 h with 500 nM COTI-219 and cell viability determined. In DMS114 cells only the Ras knock-down was able to suppress the action of COTI-219 on apoptosis/cell growth (FIG. 49A). The fact that knock-down of Erbb2 significantly decreases cell viability even in the absence of COTI-219 is surprising given than Erbb2 protein levels were barely detectable in this cell line. It is unclear if this represents a non-specific event. Unlike DMS114, SHP77 cells express robust levels of Egfr and Erbb2. In this cell line, not only Ras but Erbb2, Erk1, and PKC-α all suppressed the apoptotic/cell growth inhibitory effect of COTI-219 (FIG. 49B). A possible explanation is that Erbb2, PKC-α, and Erk1/2 knock-downs are likely to slow-down cellular proliferation by inhibiting cyclin D1 activity. Cyclin D1 mRNA is only moderately expressed in SHP77 cells as opposed to non-small cell lung cancer cells, where gene amplification has been reported. As a result, Erbb2 and its downstream effectors, including PKC-α and Erk1/2 may play a significant role in cyclin D1 up-regulation. In the absence of sustained levels of Erbb2, PKC-α, or Erk1/2 to regulate cyclin D1 expression the ability of COTI-219 to induce G1 arrest and apoptosis may be impaired. Since the cell viability assay reflects the compounded effects of apoptosis and growth inhibition it cannot differentiate between the relative effects of the knock-down on the two processes. Furthermore, COTI-219 induces both apoptosis and cycle arrest at the concentration used in these experiments (FIG. 49A-B). Therefore, while knockdown of Ras likely suppresses COTI-219 apoptosis, the knock-down of Erbb2, may suppress the growth inhibitory effects of COTI-219.

In lung cancer, oncogenic Ras exerts anti-apoptotic effects, in part by up-regulating the multi-functional PKB/AKT kinase. Activated PKB/AKT phosphorylates and inhibits caspase 9 activation. In order to determine whether caspase 9 activation mediates COTI-219 apoptosis, cells were incubated for 12 h with vehicle or increasing concentrations of COTI-219 and the expression levels of cleaved caspases 3 and 9 were determined. There was a dose-dependent increase in the levels of both cleaved caspases, peaking at 0.5 μM of COTI-219. Beyond this concentration, activated caspase 9 was not detectable and there was a decline in cleaved caspase 3. These results demonstrated that COTI-219 can induce apoptosis by a different mechanism(s), which is dose-dependent.

Cells were incubated with increasing concentrations of COTI-219 and cell cycle analyzed in order to further investigate the mechanism of action of COTI-219 since at concentrations ≧0.5 μM there was no detectable caspase 9 cleavage (FIG. 50). Control cells displayed the characteristic pattern of stained nuclei in the Go/G1/S/G2 stages of the cell cycle (FIG. 51). However, incubation with 1.5 μM of COTI-219 produced cell cycle arrest in G1. At higher doses of COTI-219 cells escape G1 arrest and the cell cycle appears to be normal. These observations further strengthen the observation that different mechanisms are responsible for COTI-219 apoptosis, depending upon the concentration of the compound.

The role of the pro-apoptotic regulator Biml remains uncertain. Although it has been reported that small molecule inhibitors of the Egfr/Erbb2 pathway can induce apoptosis by up-regulating Biml expression, and consequently sequestering anti-apoptotic Bc12, knock-down of Bim did not interfere with COTI-219 apoptosis. However, cells that survived COTI-219 apoptosis had significantly lower levels of Bim than did control cells (not shown), suggesting that Biml may play a role in the observed effects of COTI-219.

In conclusion the cumulative data presented in this study suggest that, at nanomolar ranges of concentrations (≦500 nM), COTI219 induces apoptosis through its inhibitory effect on Ras; whereas, at higher micromolar concentrations (≧1.5 μM), COTI219 induces cell cycle arrest through an unidentified target. This concentration of COTI-219 is important in understanding the mechanism of action of COTI-219, as higher concentrations may affect a different set of molecular targets and induce apoptosis by different mechanisms (see further).

Example 23
In Vitro Pharmacokinetics (ADME Toxicology)

The pharmacokinetics of many antineoplastic agents are associated with treatment outcome, which makes it desirable to evaluate these parameters in various in vitro and in vivo screens (Nat Rev Cancer 5: 447-458). ADMET, which is an acronym for absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicity, describes the disposition of a pharmaceutical compound within an organism (Nat Rev Cancer 6: 546-558). These criteria all influence the drug levels and kinetics of exposure to the tissues and hence influence the performance and pharmacological activity of the compound. An ensemble of tests is used to characterize a compound's properties with respect to the criteria listed above. Consequently, COTI-2 was evaluated for its plasma protein binding, absorption (Pgp substrate/inhibitor), metabolic stability, and CYP450 inhibition potential using in vitro experiments to characterize its pharmacokinetics.

Methods:

Plasma Protein Binding:

The experimental method employed which was described previously (J Pharm Sci 92: 967-974) is outlined below.

Test

Analytical

Assay
Compound
Equilibration/Incubation
Method

Plasma Protein
10 μM (n = 2)
At least 8 hours at 37° C. in
HPLC-

Binding
1% DMSO
human plasma 12-14K
MS/MS

(human)

MWCO dialysis membrane

0.05M phosphate buffer,

pH 7.5

Plasma Protein
10 μM (n = 2)
At least 8 hours at 37° C. in
HPLC-

Binding (rat,
1% DMSO
rat plasma 12-14K MWCO
MS/MS

mixed breeds)

dialysis membrane 0.05M

phosphate buffer, pH 7.5

Plasma Protein
10 μM (n = 2)
At least 8 hours at 37° C. in
HPLC-

Binding (dog,
1% DMSO
dog plasma 12-14K MWCO
MS/MS

mixed breeds)

dialysis membrane 0.05M

phosphate buffer, pH 7.5

Notes:

96-well dialysis apparatus: from HTDialysis LLC (Gates Ferry, CT), part #1006

Abbreviations:

DMSO: Dimethylsulfoxide

HPLC-MS/MS: HPLC coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (Instrumentation: Thermo Finnigan)

HPLC: High performance liquid chromatrography

MWCO: Molecular weight cut-off

Commercially obtained (Rockland Immunochemicals Inc.), non-sterile, species-specific plasma (human, monkey, and dog) with sodium anticoagulant added was utilized for this study. An equilibrium dialysis experiment was performed in a 96-well format in a dialysis block constructed from Teflon (J Pharm Sci 92: 967-974). Dialysis membrane strips (12-14K MWCO) were presoaked in water and ethanol, rinsed and then kept in buffer until use. Following assembly of the 96-well dialysis apparatus, 0.15 ml of the dialysis block was assembled and membrane strips placed between the dialysis and sample compartments. The dialysate compartment was loaded with 0.15 ml phosphate buffer was added to the dialysis side of each well. Plasma (unfiltered) was spiked with 10 μM COTI-2 (1% DMSO) and 0.15 ml added to the sample side of each well. After loading, samples are covered and incubated at 37° C. until equilibrium was reached (at least 8 hours). Equal volumes of sample were removed from the buffer and plasma sides of each well, diluted with acetonitrile/buffer and centrifuged. Also at this time an additional sample was prepared (in duplicate) by spiking COTI-2 in plasma at 10 μM, followed by sampling and diluting in acetonitrile/buffer in the same manner as the incubated plasma sample. This calibration sample served as the basis of a recovery determination. The supernatants were analyzed by HPLC-MS/MS and the peak response of COTI-2 in both dialysis and sample compartments, and in the calibration sample, were subsequently determined in two independent replicates. Acebutolol, quinidine and warfarin were included in each assay as reference compounds. The reference compounds yield protein binding values that represent low, medium and high binding to plasma proteins, respectively. Samples were analyzed via (RP)HPLC-MS/MS using selected reaction monitoring (SRM). The HPLC conditions consist of a binary LC pump with autosampler, a C18 column (2×20 mm), and gradient elution. The percent bound to plasma/serum proteins and percent recovery of the compounds were calculated. The recovery determination serves as an indicator as to the reliability of the calculated protein binding value.

In Vitro Absorption (Pgp Substrate or Inhibitor):

The general procedures are outlined below.

Test
Biological
Analytical

Assay
Concentration
Conditions
Methods

A-B Permeability
10 μM in HBSS
A-to-B flux at 37°
HPLC-

(TC7, pH 7.4/7.4)
1% DMSO (n = 2)
C. with shaking 96-
MS/MS

well Multiscreen

plate pH 7.4 in A

and pH 7.4 in B

Donor samples: time

0 and 60 min

Receiver samples:

time 60 min

A-B Permeability
10 μM in HBSS
A-to-B flux at 37°
HPLC-

(TC7, pH 7.4/7.4) +
100 μM verapamil
C. with shaking 96-
MS/MS

verapamil
in A and B sides,
well Multiscreen

1% DMSO (n = 2)
plate pH 7.4 in A

and pH 7.4 in B

Donor samples: time

0 and 60 min

Receiver samples:

time 60 min

B-A Permeability
10 μM in HBSS
B-to-A flux at 37°
HPLC-

(TC7, pH 7.4/7.4)
1% DMSO (n = 2)
C. with shaking 96-
MS/MS

well Multiscreen

plate pH 7.4 in A

and pH 7.4 in B

Donor samples: time

0 and 40 min

Receiver samples:

time 40 min

B-A Permeability
10 μM in HBSS
B-to-A flux at 37°
HPLC-

(TC7, pH 7.4/7.4) +
100 μM verapamil
C. with shaking 96-
MS/MS

verapamil
in A and B sides,
well Multiscreen

1% DMSO (n = 2)
plate pH 6.5 in A

and pH 7.4 in B

Donor samples: time

0 and 40 min

Receiver samples:

time 40 min

P-glycoprotein
Test compound
B-to-A flux at 37°
Scintil-

inhibitation
(0.03, 0.3, 1, 3, 5,
C. with shaking 96-
lation

(TC7, ³H-digoxin
10, 30 and 100 μM
well Multiscreen
counting

substrate)
in both A and B
plate pH 7.4 in A

sides) ³H-digoxin
and B sides

in B side, digoxin
Donor samples: time

(10 μM) in A side
180 min

and B side in
Receiver samples:

HBSS, 0.1% BSA,
time 180 min

1% DMSO (n = 2)

Notes:

Multiscreen plate: 96-well plate, from Millipore, catalog number MACACO2S5

Abbreviations:

A: Apical side

B: Basolateral side

DMSO: Dimethylsulfoxide

HBSS: Hank's balanced salt solution, from Invitrogen, catalog number 14065-056, plus 5 mM HEPES, from Sigma, catalog number H 3375, pH 7.4

HEPES: N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-piperazine-N′-(2-ethanesulfonic acid)

HPLC-MS/MS: HPLC coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (Instrumentation: Thermo Finnigan)

HPLC: High performance liquid chromatrography

Passage
Days in
Reference
Bibli-

Assay
Cell
Number
Culture
Compound
ography

A-B
TC7
15
13 to 25
4 reference
Gres et

Permeability
(human
passages in

compounds
al.

(TC7, pH
intestinal
culture

(set 2)
(1998)

7.4/7.4)
epithelial
between

cells)
passages

20 and 40

A-B
TC7
15
13 to 25

Gres

Permeability
(human
passages in

et al.

(TC7, pH
intestinal
culture

(1998)

7.4/7.4) +
epithelial
between

verapamil
cells)
passages

20 and 40

B-A
TC7
15
13 to 25
4 reference
Horio

Permeability
(human
passages in

compounds
M. et

(TC7, pH
intestinal
culture

(set 2)
al.

7.4/7.4)
epithelial
between

(1989)

cells)
passages

20 and 40

B-A
TC7
15
13 to 25

Hunter

Permeability
(human
passages in

et al.

(TC7, pH
intestinal
culture

(1993)

7.4/7.4) +
epithelial
between

verapamil
cells)
passages

20 and 40

P-
TC7
15
13 to 25
Verapamil
Cavet

glycoprotein
(human
passages in

et al.

inhibition
intestinal
culture

(1996)

(TC7, ³H-
epithelial
between

digoxin
cells)
passages

substrate)

20 and 40

Notes:

TC7 is a sub-clone of the Caco-2 cell line.

4 Reference compounds (set 2): Propranolol, Ranitidine, Colchicine and Labetalol.

TC7 cells were seeded at 1×10⁵cells/cm²on porous polycarbonate membrane in 96-well Multiscreen™ plates (Millipore). Cells were fed every 2 to 3 days and the day before the permeability assay. Permeability assays are performed with the cells at days 13-25 post-seeding. The assay directions included apical to basolateral (A-B) and basolateral to apical (B-A). The working solution for COTI-2 was prepared at 10 μM in HBSS-MES (5 mM), pH 6.5, or HBSS-HEPES (5 mM), pH 7.4, from a 1 mM DMSO stock solution. The working solution was then centrifuged and the supernatant was added to the apical or basolateral side with a final DMSO concentration of 1%. The assay was incubated for 60 or 40 mM with gentle shaking at 37° C. The sampling scheme consisted of donor time zero, donor time 60 or 40 min, and receiver time 60 or 40 min. Samples were analyzed via (RP)HPLC-MS/MS using selected reaction monitoring (SRM). Reference compounds included, propranolol (highly permeable), labetalol (moderately permeable), ranitidine (poorly permeable), and colchicine (P-glycoprotein substrate) were included in each assay. The cell monolayer integrity was confirmed by fluorescein permeability assessment (in the A-B direction at pH 7.4 on both sides with 1 h incubation) after the permeability assay with COTI-2. The cell monolayer that has a fluorescein permeability of less than 0.5×10⁻⁶cm/s was considered intact. The apparent permeability coefficient (P_app) of COTI-2 in the apical to the basolateral and apical direction and the percent recovery of the compounds were calculated.

For the P-glycoprotein inhibition assay using ³H-digoxin as substrate, the TC7 cells were grown as above.

Two working solutions, working solution I and II, were prepared and each added to the apical and basolateral sides, respectively. Working solution I consisted of COTI-2 at various concentrations ranging from 0.01 to 100 μM in HBSS-HEPES (5 mM)/0.1% BSA, at pH 7.4 from a 10 mM DMSO stock solution. Digoxin (10 μM) and Fluorescein (10 μM) were included in this working solution. The working solution I was then mixed and added to the apical side with a final DMSO concentration of no more than 1%. Working solution II consisted of various concentrations (0.01 to 100 μM) of COTI-2 prepared in HBSS-HEPES (5 mM)/0.1% BSA, at pH 7.4 from a 10 mM DMSO stock solution. Digoxin (10 μM) and ³H-digoxin were included in the working solution. The working solution II was then mixed and added to the basolateral side with a final DMSO concentration of no more than 1%. The assay was incubated for 3 h with gentle shaking at 37° C. The assay was sampled at 3 h and analyzed by liquid scintillation counting for ³H-digoxin and fluorescence detection for Fluorescein. As a reference, verapamil (0.001-0.002 μM) was added to both the A and B sides. Cell monolayer integrated was assessed by the addition of 10 μM to the apical side and background fluorescence determined from the basolateral side at time 0 and compared to time 3 h. An apparent permeability of <0.5×10⁻⁶cm/s for fluorescein corresponds to an intact monolayer. The percent inhibition of the permeation of ³H-digoxin was calculated following scintillation count.

Metabolic Stability:

The experimental conditions are outlined below.

Detected
Analytical

Assay
Substrate/Cofactor
Incubation
Component
Method

Metabolic
Test compound (1 μM),
0 and 60 min.
Product ion
HPLC-

Stability (liver
NADP (1 mM), G6P (5 mM),
37° C.
corresponding to
MS/MS

microsomes,
G6PDHase
Phosphate
the test

human)
(1 U/mL) with 0.6%
buffer, pH
coumpound via

methanol, 0.6%
7.4
SRM

acetonitrile (n = 2)

Metabolic
Test compound (1 μM),
0 and 60 min.
Product ion
HPLC-

Stability (liver
NADP (1 mM), G6P (5 mM),
37° C.
corresponding to
MS/MS

microsomes,
G6PDHase
Phosphate
the test

monkey,
(1 U/mL) with 0.6%
buffer, pH
coumpound via

Cynomolgus)
methanol, 0.6%
7.4
SRM

acetonitrile (n = 2)

Metabolic
Test compound (1 μM),
0 and 60 min.
Product ion
HPLC-

Stability (liver
NADP (1 mM), G6P (5 mM),
37° C.
corresponding to
MS/MS

microsomes,
G6PDHase
Phosphate
the test

dog, Beagle)
(1 U/mL) with 0.6%
buffer, pH
coumpound via

methanol, 0.6%
7.4
SRM

acetonitrile (n = 2)

Metabolic
Test compound (1 μM),
0 and 60 min.
Product ion
HPLC-

Stability (liver
NADP (1 mM), G6P (5 mM),
37° C.
corresponding to
MS/MS

microsomes, rat,
G6PDHase
Phosphate
the test

Sprague-
(1 U/mL) with 0.6%
buffer, pH
coumpound via

Dawley)
methanol, 0.6%
7.4
SRM

acetonitrile (n = 2)

Abbreviations:

CYP: Cytochrome P450

G6P: D-Glucose-6-phosphate, from Sigma, catalog number G-7772

G6PDHase: Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, from Sigma, catalog number G-4134

HPLC-MS/MS: HPLC coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (Instrumentation: Thermo Finnigan)

HPLC: High performance liquid chromatrography

NADP: β-Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate, from Sigma, catalog number N-0505

SRM: Selected reaction monitoring

Metabolic stability was determined in human (mixed gender and pool of 50), monkey (male Cynomolgus, pool of 6 or more), dog (male, beagle, pool of 4 or more), and rat (male, Sprague-Dawley, pool of 100 or more) liver microsomes. Pooled liver microsomes were pre-incubated with NADPH-generating system (1 mM NADP, 5 mM G6P, and 1 U/ml G6PDHase) in phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) containing 3 mM MgCl₂and 1 mM EDTA in a 2 ml-block 96-well plate for 10 min in a 37° C. shaking water bath. The reaction was initiated by adding COTI-2 (1 μM final concentration) and incubated in a final volume of 400 μl for 0 min and 60 mM in the 37° C. shaking water bath. The reaction was stopped by transferring 100 μL of the incubation mixture to 100 μl of acetonitrile/methanol (50/50, v/v) in a 0.8 ml V-bottom 96-well plate. Samples were then mixed on a plate shaker for 5 mM and centrifuged at 2550×g for 15 mM at room temperature. Each supernatant (150 μl) was transferred to a clean cluster tube, followed by HPLC-MS/MS analysis on a Thermo Electron triple-quadrupole system. Four reference substrates (1 μM) were tested simultaneously with COTI-2. Propranolol and imipramine are relatively stable, whereas verapamil and terfenadine are relatively unstable with human liver microsomes. Peak areas corresponding to COTI-2 were recorded by HPLC-MS/MS. Metabolic stability, expressed as percent of COTI-2 remaining, was calculated by comparing the peak area of COTI-2 at 60 mM to time zero.

CYP450 Inhibition:

The general procedures described previously (Drug Metal) Dispos 29: 23-29) are outlined below:

Detected
Analytical

Assay
Substrate/Cofactor
Incubation
Component
Method

CYP1A Inhibition
Test Compound (10 μM),
15 min,
Acetaminophen
HPLC-

(HLM, phenacetin
Phenacetin (10 μM),
37° C.

MS/MS

substrate)
NADP (1.3 mM),

G6P (3.3 mM),

G6PDHase

(0.4 U/mL) (n = 2)

CYP2B6 Inhibition
Test Compound (10 μM),
15 min,
Hydroxy-
HPLC-

(HLM, bupropion
Bupropion
37° C.
bupropion
MS/MS

substrate)
(100 μM), NADP

(1.3 mM), G6P (3.3 mM),

G6PDHase

(0.4 U/mL) (n = 2)

CYP2C8 Inhibition
Test Compound (10 μM),
15 min,
6α Hydroxypaclitaxel
HPLC-

(HLM, paclitaxel
Paclitaxel (10 μM),
37° C.

MS/MS

substrate)
NADP (1.3 mM),

G6P (3.3 mM),

G6PDHase (0.4 U/mL)

(n = 2)

CYP2C9 Inhibition
Test Compound (10 μM),
15 min,
4′-hydroxydi-
HPLC-

(HLM, diclofenac
Diclofenac (10 μM),
37° C.
clofenac
MS/MS

substrate)
NADP (1.3 mM),

G6P (3.3 mM),

G6PDHase

(0.4 U/mL) (n = 2)

CYP2C19
Test Compound (10 μM),
15 min,
5-hydroxyome-
HPLC-

Inhibition (HLM,
Omeprazole
37° C.
prazole
MS/MS

omeprazole
(0.5 μM), NADP

substrate)
(1.3 mM), G6P (3.3 mM),

G6PDHase

(0.4 U/mL) (n = 2)

CYP2D6 Inhibition
Test Compound (10 μM),
15 min,
Dextrorphan
HPLC-

(HLM,
Dextromethorphan
37° C.

MS/MS

dextromethorphan
(5 μM), NADP (1.3 mM),

substrate)
G6P (3.3 mM),

G6PDHase

(0.4 U/mL) (n = 2)

CYP2E1 Inhibition
Test Compound (10 μM),
15 min,
6-hydroxychlorz-
HPLC-

(HLM,
Chlorzoxazone
37° C.
oxazone
MS/MS

chlorzoxanzone
(100 μM), NADP

substrate)
(1.3 mM), G6P (3.3 mM),

G6PDHase

(0.4 U/mL) (n = 2)

CYP3A Inhibition
Test Compound (10 μM),
15 min,
1-hydroxy-
HPLC-

(HLM, midazolam
Midazolam (5 μM),
37° C.
midazolam
MS/MS

substrate)
NADP (1.3 mM),

G6P (3.3 mM),

G6PDHase

(0.4 U/mL) (n = 2)

CYP3A Inhibition
Test Compound (10 μM),
15 min,
6β-hydroxytesto-
HPLC-

(HLM, testosterone
Testosterone
37° C.
sterone
MS/MS

substrate)
(50 μM), NADP

(1.3 mM), G6P (3.3 mM),

G6PDHase

(0.4 U/mL) (n = 2)

COTI-2 (10 μM), reference inhibitor, or the vehicle control was pre-incubated with the CYP specific substrate (10 μM) and NADPH-generating system (1.3 mM NADP, 3.3 mM G6P, and 0.4 U/ml G6PDHase) in phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) in a 2 ml-block 96-well plate for 10 min in a 37° C. shaking water bath. The reaction was initiated by adding pooled human liver microsomes (mixed gender, pool of 50 donors, 0.2 mg/ml). The final incubation volume was 200 μl. The reaction was allowed for 15 min in the 37° C. shaking water bath and stopped by transferring 100 μl of the reaction mixture to 100 μl of acetonitrile/methanol (1/1, v/v) in a 0.8 ml V-bottom 96-well plate. Samples are mixed on a plate shaker for 5 min and centrifuged at 2550×g for 15 min at room temperature. The supernatant (150 μl) is then transferred to a clean cluster tube, followed by HPLC-MS/MS analysis on a Thermo Electron triple-quadrupole system to detect the metabolite. Each CYP specific inhibitor was tested simultaneously with reference compounds at several concentrations to obtain the IC₅₀value. Peak areas corresponding to metabolite were recorded. The percent of control activity was calculated by comparing the peak area in incubations containing COTI-2 at 15 min to the control samples containing the same solvent vehicle at 15 min Subsequently, the percent inhibition was calculated by subtracting the percent control activity from 100.

Results and Discussion:

Plasma Protein Binding:

The binding of pharmaceutical agents to plasma proteins, mostly to serum albumin, lipoprotein and α-acid glycoprotein, is one of many factors that influences the pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of an agent. It is widely accepted that a compound's efficacy may be affected by the degree to which it binds to plasma proteins, such that the unbound concentration of an agent in plasma is available to diffuse extra-vascular spaces (organs and tissues), cell membranes, and interact with the pharmacological target (Clin Pharmacokinet 39: 345-367). The plasma-bound form of the therapeutic agent can also serve as a reservoir from which the agent is released to an unbound form. Consequently, tests have been designed to determine the bound & unbound fractions of the total compound concentration. The two most commonly employed methods used to determine plasma protein-binding of compounds are ultrafiltration and equilibrium dialysis (Clin Pharmacokinet 23: 449-468 & Fundam Clin Pharmacol 4(suppl2): 151s-161s).

COTI-2 was evaluated for binding plasma proteins in 3 species, namely human, monkey, and dog, using an equilibrium dialysis technique that separates the fraction of compound that is unbound from that which is bound. As a control, a calibration sample was utilized to determine percent recovery. Both percent protein binding and recovery were calculated (Table 26) and compared against plasma protein binding of the reference compounds, acetbutolol, quinidine and warfarin, which represent compounds with low, medium, and high binding to plasma proteins, respectively (Table 27). The data indicate that COTI-2 exhibits high binding to plasma proteins from all 3 species tested (>99%). These data, however, should be interpreted with caution since the percent recovery values are low (<50%). The percent recovery is an indicator of the reliability of the percent protein bound values. Low recovery values indicate that the test compound is lost during the assay due to non-specific interactions (e.g., binding to the apparatus, membrane, etc) or due to degradation by enzymatic activity. Having said that, these data indicate that since the plasma protein binding of COTI-2 among the 3 species examined is highly similar, plasma protein levels are not anticipated to complicate the understanding of interspecies pharmacodynamic and toxicological effects. This is particularly important when evaluating the nonclinical toxicological data generated in rats and dogs necessary for First-in-Human (FIH) trials.

TABLE 26

Percent protein bound and recovery of COTI-2 in human, rat, and dog plasma.

Assay Cerep
Client
Test

Compound
Compound
Concentration
% Protein Bound
% Recovery

I.D.
I.D.
(M)
1^st
2^nd
Mean
1^st
2^nd
Mean

Plasma Protein Binding (human)

15731-1
COTI2-M05
1.0E−05
99.8
>99.9
99.8
6.7
2.9
4.8

Plasma Protein Binding (rat, mixed breeds)

15731-1
COTI2-M05
1.0E−05
>99.9
>99.9
>99.9
16.4
25.1
20.7

Plasma Protein Binding (dog, mixed breeds)

15731-1
COTI2-M05
1.0E−05
99.1
99.7
99.4
42.6
32.8
37.7

TABLE 27

Percent protein bound of reference compounds, acebutolol, quinidine, and

warfarin, in human, rat, and dog plasma.

Test Con-

Assay
centration
% Protein Bound

Reference Compound
(M)
1^st
2^nd
Mean

Plasma Protein Binding (human)

Acebutolol
1.0E−05
14.9
12.8
13.8

Quinidine
1.0E−05
52.5
48.1
50.3

Warfarin
1.0E−05
94.2
96.4
95.3

Plasma Protein Binding (rat, mixed breeds)

Acebutolol
1.0E−05
8.0
3.4
5.7

Quinidine
1.0E−05
67.7
62.8
65.2

Warfarin
1.0E−05
97.8
97.6
97.7

Plasma Protein Binding (dog, mixed breeds)

Acebutolol
1.0E−05
18.9
5.3
12.1

Quinidine
1.0E−05
70.8
83.4
77.1

Warfarin
1.0E−05
95.8
96.1
95.9

In Vitro Absorption (Pgp Substrate or Inhibitor):

An understanding of intestinal transport is crucial for evaluating the potential for oral dosing of pharmacological agents (Drug Discov Today 13: 379-393). As a rule, a given pharmacological agent will interact with membrane transporter(s) at some point of its route in the body. Of particular importance are the multiple drug resistance (MDR) transporters, especially P-glycoprotein (Pgp), which plays an important role in limiting oral drug delivery by active efflux of pharmacological agents from the intestinal mucosa and into the lumen (Xenobiotica 38: 802-832). Pgp is also located at the blood-brain barrier among other tissues, thus may exclude pharmacological agents targeted to the central nervous system from the brain affects and result in poor brain penetration. In addition, Pgp confers multidrug-resistance to cancer cells (Nat Rev Drug Discov 5: 219-234). The bi-directional transport assay, which also measures intestinal permeability, is regarded as the definitive assay for identifying Pgp substrates and inhibitors because it measures drug efflux in a more direct manner than other methods (Xenobiotica 38: 802-832).

In vitro cell culture systems, such as Caco-2 and TC-7, have been used to predict human in vivo intestinal permeability (Cell Biol Toxicol 21: 1-26 & Pharm Res 15: 726-733). The Caco-2 cell line, derived from gastrointestinal tumors, has been used for decades to study intestinal permeability. The TC-7 cell line, which is a sub-clone of Caco-2, has been shown to be a valuable alternative to the Caco-2 cells based on morphological, biochemical, and drug transport characteristics. Furthermore, the apically-located Pgp, the monocarboxylic acid transporter, the dipeptided transporter, and the transporter for large neutral amino acids are expressed in both Caco-2 and the subclone TC-7 cells at similar levels. Therefore, the latter cell line was used for evaluating the intestinal permeability of COTI-2 and for determining whether COTI-2 is a Pgp substrate or inhibitor.

The TC-7 cells were grown to a monolayer and 10 μM COTI-2 added either to the apical (A) or basolateral (B) side of the monolayer to measure permeability. Verapamil, which is an inhibitor of Pgp, was added on both the apical and basolateral sides of the monolayer in the presence of COTI-2, as a control to determine whether the efflux of COTI-2 is Pgp-mediated. The data are represented as apparent permeability coefficient (P_app[10⁻⁶cm/s]) and percent recovery. The reference compounds included in the assay are propranolol (highly permeable), labetalol (moderately permeable, ranitidine (poorly permeable), and colchicines (Pgp substrate) (Table 28). The TC-7 permeability classification is as follows:

P_app< 2 × 10⁻⁶cm/s
Low permeability

2 × 10⁻⁶cm/s < P_app< 20 × 10⁻⁶cm/s
Medium permeability

P_app> 20 × 10⁻⁶cm/s
High permeability

Although the A-B permeability of COTI-2 was less than 0.3×10⁻⁶cm/s (Table 29), which indicates low permeability according to the TC-7 permeability classification, the mean recovery (22%) suggests the loss of COTI-2 during the assay due to non-specific interactions or degradation. In fact, pharmacokinetics data in rats following a single oral dose of 20 mg/kg of the parent COTI-2 form demonstrated 17.7% bioavailability by comparison against IV administration. Therefore, based on this previous in vivo pharmacokinetic study, the unformulated and un-ground parent base COTI-2 does appear to penetrate the intestinal barrier.

To evaluate whether a compound is a Pgp substrate, it is important to calculate the efflux ratio (E ratio). The E ratio is the permeability value in the B-A direction divided by the permeability value in the A-B direction. Compounds with an E ratio greater than 2 are possible Pgp substrates. Furthermore, in the presence of verapamil, the net efflux ratio should approach unity or be significantly decreased from the E ratio in the absence of verapamil to indicate a Pgp substrate. The E ratio of COTI-2 in the absence of verapamil is approximately 4.5, suggesting that COTI-2 is a possible substrate of Pgp (Table 29). However, in the presence of verapamil, the E ratio is about 4.0, which is not significantly different than without verapamil (4.5). Thus, COTI-2 is unlikely to be a Pgp substrate. There may be some efflux occurring, but it is not related to Pgp. Verapamil may be affecting other efflux systems in the cells. If COTI-2 were a Pgp substrate, one would expect not only the ratio to be reduced, but also the B-A permeability to be decreased in the presence of verapamil since verapamil decreases B-A permeability of a Pgp substrate by inhibiting Pgp. In fact, the B-A permeability of COTI-2 increased in the presence of verapamil and the B-A permeability of COTI-2 in the absence of verapamil (Table 29) is lower than all the reference compounds (Table 28). These data allow for a confident assessment that COTI-2 is not a substrate of Pgp.

TABLE 28

The permeability and percent recovery of the reference compounds colchicines,

labetalol, propranolol, and ranitidine determined using TC-7 cell lines.

Assay
Test
Permeability
Percent Recovery

Reference
Concentration
1^st
2^nd
Mean
1^st
2^nd
Mean

Compound
(M)
(10⁻⁶cm/sec)
(10⁻⁶cm/sec)
(10⁻⁶cm/sec)
(%)
(%)
(%)

A-B Permeability (TC7, pH 7.4/7.4)

Colchicine
1.0E−05
0.04
0.02
0.0
98
98
98

Labetalol
1.0E−05
7.93
5.69
6.8
80
79
80

Propranolol
1.0E−05
54.87
48.59
51.7
58
59
58

Ranitidine
1.0E−05
0.48
0.48
0.5
98
101
99

B-A Permeability (TC7, pH 7.4/7.4)

Colchicine
1.0E−05
6.43
6.45
6.4
103
100
101

Labetalol
1.0E−05
39.56
37.42
38.5
103
97
100

Propranolol
1.0E−05
18.70
18.81
18.8
96
96
96

Ranitidine
1.0E−05
4.20
4.20
4.2
110
110
110

TABLE 29

The permeability and percent recovery of COTI-2 determined using TC-7 cell lines.

Assay
Permeability

Percent

Cerep
Client
Test
1^st
2^nd
Mean

Recovery

Compound
Compound
Concentration
(10⁻⁶
(10⁻⁶
(10⁻⁶

1^st
2^nd
Mean

I.D.
I.D.
(M)
cm/sec)
cm/sec)
cm/sec)
Flags
(%)
(%)
(%)

A-B Permeability (TC7, pH 7.4/7.4)

15731-1
COTI2-M05
1.0E−05
0.33
0.32
<0.3
BLQ
23
21
22

A-B Permeability (TC7, pH 7.4/7.4) + verapamil

15731-1
COTI2-M05
1.0E−05
2.37
3.96
3.2

17
13
15

B-A Permeability (TC7, pH 7.4/7.4)

15731-1
COTI2-M05
1.0E−05
1.37
1.47
1.4

114
90
102

B-A Permeability (TC7, pH 7.4/7.4) + verapamil

15731-1
COTI2-M05
1.0E−05
15.85
9.13
12.5

49
46
47

BLQ Below the Limit of Quantitation. Test compound was well detected in donor samples but not detected in receiver samples. The concentration of test compound in receiver sample was below the limit of quantitation.

A compound can either be a substrate or inhibitor of Pgp. In order to determine whether COTI-2 is an inhibitor of Pgp an inhibition assay was performed using Digoxin, which is a well-known substrate of Pgp. The IC₅₀of COTI-2 was determined by determining amount of radiolabelled digoxin in the presence or absence of various concentrations of COTI-2. Verapamil was used as a positive control. The IC₅₀of COTI-2 (39 μM) was less than 10-fold the IC₅₀of verapamil (5.5 μM), which is a strong inhibitor of Pgp (Table 30). These data indicate that COTI-2 is likely to be a moderate inhibitor of Pgp. The role of Pgp in cancer therapy is becoming increasingly recognized, since Pgp efflux has been linked to multidrug resistance (IDrugs 5: 349-355 & Nat Rev Drug Discov 5: 219-234). In fact, co-administration of Pgp inhibiting agents as part of chemotherapy is an area that is being extensively studied in the hope of finding an ideal drug that inhibits Pgp but does not cause wide-ranging adverse effects (Xenobiotica 38: 802-832). Therefore, an anticancer therapeutic like COTI-2, which inhibits Pgp efflux can potentially increase oral bioavailability or reduce multidrug resistance.

TABLE 30

The Pgp inhibition of COTI-2 and verapamil in the TC-7 cell line.

Assay

IC₅₀

Cerep Compound I.D.
Client Compound I.D.
(M)
n_H

P-glycoprotein Inhibition (TC7, ³H-digoxin substrate)

15731-1
COTI2-M05
3.9E−05
0.5

Assay
IC₅₀

Reference Compound
(M)
n_H

P-glycoprotein Inhibition (TC7, ³H-digoxin substrate)

Verapamil
5.5E−06
0.9

Metabolic Stability:

The clearance and bioavailability of most pharmacological agents are strongly influence by their first-pass metabolism in the liver (Nat Rev Cancer 6: 546-558). It is possible to estimate the relative hepatic “metabolic stability” in vitro by incubating compounds with liver microsomes and determining the initial versus the final amount of the test compound in the incubation mixtures.

The relative stability of 1.0 μM COTI-2 in liver microsomes of human, monkey, dog, and rat was evaluated at 60 min post-incubation and data presented as mean percent remaining of COTI-2. Four reference substrates (1.0 μM) were tested, including propranolol and imipramine, which are relatively stable, whereas verapamil and terfenadine, which are relatively unstable with human liver microsomes (Table 32). COTI-2 appears to be most stable in human liver microsomes compared to monkey, dog, and rat liver microsomes (Table 31). These data, which will be used to guide preclinical toxicological studies, predict that COTI-2 will be cleared at a higher rate in the preclinical in vivo models relative to clearance in humans. Furthermore, the stability of COTI-2 in human liver microsomes (31% remaining at 60 min) appears to be moderate compared to the reference substrates.

TABLE 31

Metabolic stability of COTI-2 in human, monkey, dog, and rat

liver microsomes as indicated by percent remaining.

Mean

Test
Parent

Assay
Client
Concentration
Remaining

Cerep Compound I.D.
Compound I.D.
(M)
(%)

Metabolic Stability (liver microsomes, human)

15731-1
COTI2-M05
1.0E−06
31

Metabolic Stability (liver microsomes, monkey, Cynomolgus)

15731-1
COTI2-M05
1.0E−06
2

Metabolic Stability (liver microsomes, dog, Beagle)

15731-1
COTI2-M05
1.0E−06
5

Metabolic Stability (liver microsomes, rat, Sprague-Dawley)

15731-1
COTI2-M05
1.0E−06
1

TABLE 32

Metabolic stability of reference compounds in human, monkey,

dog and rat liver microsomes as indicated by percent remaining.

Test
Parent Remaining

Assay
Concentration
1^st
2^nd
Mean

Reference Compound
(M)
(%)
(%)
(%)

Metabolic Stability (liver microsomes, human)

Imipramine
1.0E−06
68.8
71.1
70

Propranolol
1.0E−06
77.6
76.7
77

Terfenadine
1.0E−06
9.2
8.7
9

Verapamil
1.0E−06
17.3
17.0
17

Metabolic Stability (liver microsomes, monkey, Cynomolgus)

Imipramine
1.0E−06
0.3
0.3
0

Propranolol
1.0E−06
23.3
21.5
22

Terfenadine
1.0E−06
0.6
0.5
1

Verapamil
1.0E−06
0.4
0.1
0

Metabolic Stability (liver microsomes, dog, Beagle)

Imipramine
1.0E−06
1.2
0.9
1

Propranolol
1.0E−06
24.4
25.4
25

Terfenadine
1.0E−06
88.2
88.9
89

Verapamil
1.0E−06
18.1
18.0
18

Metabolic Stability (liver microsomes, rat, Sprague-Dawley)

Imipramine
1.0E−06
0.3
0.2
0

Propranolol
1.0E−06
0.0
0.0
0

Terfenadine
1.0E−06
4.1
3.5
4

Verapamil
1.0E−06
13.3
13.5
13

CYP450 Inhibition:

The metabolism-based drug-drug interactions occur when a pharmacological agent inhibits or induces the activity of a drug metabolizing enzyme, which catalyzes the metabolism of any concomitant drugs. The metabolism-based drug-drug interaction is one of the major factors that cause drug failures during drug development. The major metabolic pathways involved can be classified into 2 groups, phase I and phase II reactions (J Clin Pharmacol 41: 1149-1179). The cytochrome P450 (CYP450), which is an enzyme superfamily of hemoproteins that catalyze the phase I reactions, are estimated to account for the biotransformation of approximately 60% of the commonly prescribed drugs in the US. A number of in vitro assays for CYP450 inhibition have been developed, which differ in CYP enzyme source and composition (i.e., recombinant cDNA expressed human CYP isozymes, human liver microsomes, probe substrates, and detection [e.g., LC-MS, fluorescence, radioactivity]). Microsomes and recombinant P450 enzymes are the preferred test system as they are more readily available than human hepatocytes, and P450 kinetic measurements are not confounded with other metabolic processes or cellular uptake (Drug Metab Dispos 31: 815-832).

The metabolism of COTI-2 by the CYP enzymes of major importance in drug metabolism was analyzed by determining the percent inhibition relative to solvent only control (which is considered 100% uninhibited enzyme activity) Inhibition of greater than 50% suggests an inhibitory activity of a test compound towards a specific CYP450 enzyme and requires further investigation by IC₅₀determination. The inhibition by COTI-2 for all the CYP450 enzymes tested was well below 50%, thus indicating that it is not likely to be a significant inhibitor of the CYP enzymes (Table 33). The negative inhibition values, resulting from interaction of the components in the reaction mixture, also indicate that COTI-2 is not an inhibitor of CYP enzymes. Represented in Table 34 are the IC₅₀values of known inhibitors of each of the assayed CYP450 enzymes.

TABLE 33

Percent inhibition of CYP450 enzymes by COTI-2 relative to control

(vehicle alone) values as determined by a human liver microsomal assay.

Test

Assay Cerep
Client
Concentration
% Inhibition of

Compound I.D.
Compound I.D.
(M)
Control Values

CYP1A Inhibition (HLM, phenacetin substrate)

15731-1
COTI2-M05
1.0E−05
−2

CYP2B6 Inhibition (HLM, bupropion substrate)

15731-1
COTI2-M05
1.0E−05
5

CYP2C8 Inhibition (HLM, paclitaxel substrate)

15731-1
COTI2-M05
1.0E−05
10

CYP2C9 Inhibition (HLM, diclofenac substrate)

15731-1
COTI2-M05
1.0E−05
2

CYP2C19 Inhibition (HLM, omeprazole substrate)

15731-1
COTI2-M05
1.0E−05
4

CYP2D6 Inhibition (HLM, dextromethorphan substrate)

15731-1
COTI2-M05
1.0E−05
2

CYP2E1 Inhibition (HLM, chlorzoxazone substrate)

15731-1
COTI2-M05
1.0E−05
−2

CYP3A Inhibition (HLM, midazolam substrate)

15731-1
COTI2-M05
1.0E−05
7

CYP3A Inhibition (HLM, testosterone substrate)

15731-1
COTI2-M05
1.0E−05
−4

TABLE 34

IC₅₀values of known inhibitors of the CYP450 enzymes

as determined by a human liver microsomal assay.

Assay
IC50

Reference Compound
(M)
n_H

CYP1A Inhibition (HLM, phenacetin substrate)

Furafylline
4.9E−06
0.8

CYP2B6 Inhibition (HLM, bupopion substrate)

Clopidogrel
6.4E−07
2.7

CYP2C8 Inhibition (HLM, paclitaxel substrate)

Nicardipine
2.3E−06
1.2

CYP2C9 Inhibition (HLM, diclofenac substrate)

Sulfaphenazole
9.5E−07
1.1

CYP2C19 Inhibition (HLM, omeprazole substrate)

Oxybutynin
6.6E−06
1.1

CYP2D6 Inhibition (HLM, dextromethorphan substrate)

Quinidine
1.4E−07
0.9

CYP2E1 Inhibition (HLM, chlorzoxazone substrate)

4-Mehylpyrazole
3.3E−07
1.0

CYP3A Inhibition (HLM, midazolam substrate)

Ketoconazole
2.4E−07
1.8

CYP3A Inhibition (HLM, testosterone substrate)

Ketoconazole
5.0E−07
0.9

Example 24
In Vivo Pharmacokinetics

Pharmacokinetic studies in animal models provide valuable information that enables prediction of metabolism in humans. There are a large variety of animal models that allow for the pharmacokinetic evaluation of compounds by providing information on serum, plasma, and tissue levels. One of the major differences between animal and human pharmacokinetics is that a compound is cleared at a faster rate in animals, particularly rodents, compared to clearance in humans (Int J Antimicrob Agents 19: 261-268). As a result, it is important to keep this phenomenon in mind during extrapolations from animal to human metabolism. An initial pharmacokinetic assessment of COTI-2, administered both intravenously and orally, in its parent formulation and as both an oxalate and tartrate salt were evaluated in rats.

Methods:

Intrinsic Clearance and Half-Life Determination:

The incubation mixture (500 μl) consisted of 100 μl of COTI-2, 150 μl of liver microsomal fractions (1.67 mg/ml rat/human) 35.5 μl of 100 mM phosphate buffer and 214.5 μl co-factor (NADPH, UDPGA, and MgCl₂). The COTI-2 compound mixture and co-factor were pre-warmed at 37° C. for 5 min, with shaking at 150 rpm. The reaction was started by adding co-factor to the test compound mixture. The final concentration of the incubation mixture was as follows:

Microsomal protein: 0.5 mg/ml
NADPH: 0.823 mM

UDPGA: 5 mM
MgCl₂: 1 mM

Blank incubation was performed with the co-factors. The sampling time points included 0 and 240 min for the blank sample, and 0, 20, 40, 60, 120, 180, and 240 min for COTI-2. At each time point 50 μl of sample was added to 150 μl of methanol to stop the reaction. The sample plates were centrifuged at 4200 rpm for 15 min and the supernatant was injected into LC-MS/MS for analysis. The percent compound remaining, rate of elimination (K_el), half-life (T1/2), and intrinsic clearance (CL) using standard calculations.

Results and Discussion:

A single oral or IV dose of the COTI-2 free-base or the aforementioned salt forms was administered to groups of male and female rats and blood samples collected and processed at several time-points post-treatment. The pharmacokinetic parameters following IV administration are summarized in Table 35. The extrapolated C_initialvalues for COTI-2 oxalate and tartrate formulations were approximately 4-fold and 2-fold higher than the parent formulation, respectively. The calculated extent of exposure over the 24-hour post-dose sampling period (AUC_0-24hrs) for the oxalate and tartrate formulations were approximately 2-fold higher than the parent COTI-2. The rate of elimination (K_e) of COTI-2 oxalate was approximately 2-fold higher than parent and tartrate formulations, corresponding to a decreased half-life of elimination (T_1/2(e), total half-life (T_1/2(TOTAL)) and mean residence time (MRT) in plasma. The parent COTI-2 exhibited the highest rate of clearance (CL) from plasma, approximately 1.4- and 2.3-fold higher than the oxalate and tartrate formulations, respectively, due to an increased calculated volume of distribution (V_d).

TABLE 35

A summary of the pharmacokinetic parameters following IV dosing.

Parent
Oxalate
Tartrate

COTI2
COTI2
COTI2**

Parameter
Unit
(5 mg/kg)
(5 mg/kg)
(5 mg/kg)

C_initial
ng/mL
1310.0
5205.7
2016.2

K_e
hr
0.023
0.052
0.021

T_1/2(e)
hr
30.28
13.39
32.58

AUC_{0-24 hrs}
ng * hr/mL
9184.3
20901.1
20184.0

AUC_0-∞
ng * hr/mL
19958.3
28614.2
46650.4

AUMC_0-∞
ng * hr²/mL
813242.7
501668.9
2069699.4

MRT
hr
40.7
17.5
44.4

V_d
l
23.79
4.62
11.65

CL
mL/hr/kg
250.52
174.74
107.18

T_{1/2 (TOTAL)*}
hr
30.3
13.4
32.6

*calculated from V_dand CL

**n = 5 for 24-hour time point: data from female rat #075 omitted

The pharmacokinetic parameters following oral dosing are summarized in Table 36. The C_maxvalues for COTI-2 oxalate and tartrate formulations were approximately 1.75-fold and 3.3-fold higher than the parent formulation, respectively, and the T_maxvalues were significantly shorter (15 min vs. 4 h). The calculated rate of absorption (K_a) of parent COTI-2 was approximately 3-fold higher than the other formulations; this was due to increasing plasma concentrations of parent COTI-2 at the 15- and 30-min post-dose time points, compared to decreasing concentration of COTI-2 oxalate and tartrate at the 30-min post-dose time point. The calculated extent of exposure over the 24-hour post-dose sampling period (AUC_0-24hrs) for the oxalate and tartrate formulations were comparable to parent COTI-2, with extent of exposure to the tartrate formulation slightly increased by approximately 1.4-fold. The rates (K_e) and times (T_1/2(e))) of elimination and mean residence times (MRT) of all formulations were comparable. The parent COTI-2 exhibited the highest rate of clearance (CL) from plasma, approximately 2-fold higher than the oxalate and tartrate formulations. The bioavailability (F) of parent COTI-2, COTI-2 oxalate and COTI-2 tartrate formulations after oral administration, as determined by comparison with IV administration, was 17.7%, 7.6% and 11.0%, respectively.

TABLE 36

A summary of the pharmacokinetic parameters following oral dosing.

Parent

Tartrate

COTI2
Oxalate COTI2
COTI2

Parameter
Unit
(20 mg/kg)
(20 mg/kg)
(20 mg/kg)

C_max
ng/ml
882.0
1541.7
2903.8

T_max
hr
4.0
0.25
0.25

K_a
hr⁻⁻¹
0.681
0.210
0.230

T_1/2(a)
hr
1.02
3.30
3.02

K_e
hr⁻⁻¹
0.055
0.070
0.078

T_1/2(e)
hr
12.49
9.97
8.86

AUC_{0-24 hrs}
ng * hr/mL
6500.6
6314.8
8893.5

AUC_0-∞
ng * hr/mL
7578.6
7237.8
10053.8

AUMC_0-∞
ng * hr²/mL
81677.0
72613.6
96208.9

MRT
hr
10.8
10.0
9.6

CL*
mL/hr/kg
467.10
210.01
200.92

F
%
17.7
7.6
11.0

*calculated from F as determined by comparison with IV dose kinetics

The graphical representation of the plasma concentration of each agent following IV and oral dosing are represented in FIGS. 52A-B.

Example 25
Determination of Plasma Exposure and Efficacy of COTI-2 In Vivo as a Single Agent and in Combination with Taxol® (Paclitaxel) in the AN3-CA Human Endometrial Tumor Xenograft Model

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the antitumor activity of COTI-2 as a single agent and in combination with paclitaxel in the AN3-CA human endometrial tumor xenograft model.

Materials and Methods:

Reagents and Compounds

COTI-2 mono-HCl salt (Lot# CKL-2-148) was stored at −20° C. until ready for use. A stock solution of COTI-2 was made at a concentration of 12 mg/ml; 235 mg of COTI-2 was mixed with 4.84 g of Captisol® (Lot# CY-04A-05006 Cydex Pharmaceuticals; Lenexa, Kans.) in 10.0 ml of Sterile Water for Injection (Hospira, Inc., Lake Forest, Ill.). The solution was prepared in a 60 ml amber vial and left to stir at 400 rpm for 1 h. The solution was then filtered with a 0.2 μm PVDF filter to achieve the 12 mg/ml stock concentration. The stock was further diluted to 6 mg/ml with 50 mM Captisol® solution in sterile water (at pH 3.0). The 6 mg/ml solution was also filtered with a 0.2 μm PVDF filter. Taxol® (paclitaxel) (Lot# U026849AA) was received from Hospira, Inc. (Lake Forest, Ill.), and diluted in a 0.9% NaCl solution (Baxter, Deerfield, Ill.) to a concentration of 0.5 mg/ml to deliver 5 mg/kg in a 10 ml/kg dose volume. All preparations were made fresh prior to their administration.

Cell Culture

The AN3-CA endometrial tumor cell line was received from American Type Culture Collection (ATCC, Manassas, Va.). Cultures were maintained in RPMI 1640 (Hyclone, Logan, Utah) supplemented with 5% fetal bovine serum, and housed in a 10% CO₂atmosphere. The cultures were expanded in tissue culture flasks at a 1:7 split ratio until a sufficient amount of cells were harvested.

Animals

Female athymic nude mice (CrTac:NCR-Foxnl^nu) were supplied by Taconic (Germantown, N.Y.). Mice were received at four weeks of age and were acclimated for seven days prior to handling. The mice were housed in microisolator cages (Lab Products, Seaford, Del.) and maintained under specific pathogen-free conditions. The mice were fed PicoLab® irradiated mouse chow (Lab Diet, Richmond, Ind.) and autoclaved water was freely available. All procedures were carried out under the institutional guidelines of TGen Drug Development Services Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (Protocol #09002, Approved February 2009).

AN3-CA Human Endometrial Tumor Xenograft Model

Eighty-eight mice were inoculated subcutaneously in the right flank with 0.1 ml of a 50% RPMI/50% Matrigel™ (BD Biosciences, Bedford, Mass.) mixture containing a suspension of AN3-CA tumor cells (approximately 1×10⁷cells/mouse). Nine days following inoculation, tumors were measured using calipers and tumor weight was calculated using the animal study management software, Study Director V.1.6.80 (Study Log) (Cancer Res 59: 1049-1053). Seventy mice with tumor sizes of 52-243 mg were pair-matched into the seven groups of ten mice by random equilibration, using Study Director (Day 1). Body weights were recorded when the mice were pair-matched. Body weights were taken twice weekly thereafter in conjunction with tumor measurements. On Day 1, COTI-2, vehicle control, and paclitaxel, were administered intravenously. The dosing schedule for COTI-2 and the vehicle control was three times weekly until study end. The schedule for paclitaxel was daily for five days (QD×5). This dosing regimen was repeated only to the paclitaxel single agent group starting on Day 27. The paclitaxel single agent group was treated with COTI-2 (25 mg/kg) for five days (QD×5) starting on Day 32. When the mean tumor weight of each mouse reached an approximate end-point of 2000 mg, mice were sacrificed with regulated CO₂.

Data and Statistical Analysis:

Mean Tumor Growth Inhibition (TGI) was Calculated Utilizing the Following Formula:

$TGI = [1 - \frac{({\overline{χ}}_{Treated (Final)} - {\overline{χ}}_{Treated (Day 1)})}{({\overline{χ}}_{Control (Final)} - {\overline{χ}}_{Control (Day 1)}}] \times 100 %$

Tumors that regressed from the Day 1 starting size were removed from the calculations. Individual tumor shrinkage (TS) was calculated using the formula below for tumors that showed regression relative to Day 1 tumor weight. The mean tumor shrinkage of each group was calculated and reported.

$TS = [1 - \frac{(Tumor {Weight}_{(Final)})}{(Tumor {Weight}_{(Day 1)})}] \times 100 %$

All statistical analyses in the xenograft study were performed with GraphPad Prism® v4 software. Differences in tumor weights were confirmed using the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) with the Tukey's Post Test and the One-tailed Student's T test. Increase in survival fraction was confirmed by the log rank test.

Results and Discussion:

This study determined the antitumor effects of COTI-2 when administered as a single agent and when administered in combination with paclitaxel. The treatment regimens were tested against the AN3-CA human endometrial tumor xenograft model. Efficacy was assessed by comparison of tumor weights (Table 37 and FIG. 53) and survival at an endpoint of 2000 mg (Table 38).

Overall, single agent treatment of the test agent resulted in slight toxicity in the higher doses and in combination with paclitaxel. Mice exhibited lethargy and hypoactivity with continued dosing at 50 mg/kg. Deaths in the 25 mg/kg and 50 mg/kg groups were possibly due to drug toxicity and tumor burden, since both groups had tumors over 1500 mg at the time of death. COTI-2 as a single agent did not show any statistical differences in tumor weights or survival, when compared to control (Tables 37 and 38). However, in combination with paclitaxel, COTI-2 showed positive interaction with 90-100% tumor regression in the combination groups compared to 50% regression observed in the single agent paclitaxel treated group. The combination treatments significantly increased survival relative to paclitaxel alone survival (Table 38). A COTI-2 dose level dependency was also observed in the combination treatments (FIG. 53). In conclusion, COTI-2 dosed at 25 mg/kg in combination with paclitaxel resulted in the highest anti-tumor activity against the AN3-CA human endometrial xenograft model.

TABLE 37

Summary of tumor weights between groups on Day 13 of the study.

Maximum
Day 13

Dose

Schedule
weight loss
Mean tumor
Day 13
Day 13

Group
N
(mg/kg)
Route
(Day)
(%) (Day #)
weight (mg)
TGI (%)
TS¹
CS²

Vehicle
10
—
IV
3X Weekly
5.6%
1,667.8 ±
—
—
0

Control

to end
(Day 9)
240.7

COTI-2
10
12.5
IV
3X Weekly
8.2%
1,828.9 ±
—
—
0

to end
(Day 21)
265.8

COTI-2
10
25.0
IV
3X Weekly
4.7%
2,108.7 ±
—
—
0

to end
(Day 6)
263.0

COTI-2
10
50.0
IV
3X Weekly
5.4%
1,542.7 ±
7.8
—
0

to end
(Day 21)
217.2

Paclitaxel
10
2.0
IV
QD X 5
8.0%
175.1 ±
89.7
33.9
0

(Day 6)
62.44

(5/10)

COTI-2
10
12.5
IV
3X Weekly
11.0%
58.4 ±
98.9
54.5
3

Paclitaxel

2.0
IV
to end
(Day 6)
12.7

(9/10)

QD X 5

COTI-2
10
25.0
IV
3X Weekly
10.8%
48.0 ±
—
55.6
4

Paclitaxel

2.0
IV
to end
(Day 6)
8.7

(10/10)

QD X 5

TS¹= Tumor Shrinkage

CS²= Complete Shrinkage

TABLE 38

Summary of survival between groups at an end point of 2000 mg.

Mean days

of Survival

Dose

Schedule
(Day ±

Group
N
(mg/kg)
Route
(Day)
SEM)
Deaths

Vehicle
10
—
IV
3X Weekly
17.0 ± 1.0
0

Control

to end

COTI-2
10
12.5
IV
3X Weekly
16.7 ± 0.8
0

to end

COTI-2
10
25.0
IV
3X Weekly
15.8 ± 0.9
1

to end

COTI-2
10
50.0
IV
3X Weekly
17.2 ± 0.7
1

to end

Paclitaxel
10
2.0
IV
QD X 5
32.1 ± 1.5
0

COTI-2
10
12.5
IV
3X Weekly
33.9 ± 1.3
0

Paclitaxel

2.0
IV
to end

QD X 5

COTI-2
10
25.0
IV
3X Weekly
35.3 ± 0.9
0

Paclitaxel

2.0
IV
to end

QD X 5

Example 26
Evaluation of COTI-2 as a Single Agent and in Combination with Doxil® in the A2780 Human Ovarian Tumor Xenograft Model

The purpose of this study was to determine the single agent efficacy of COTI-2 in the A2780 human ovarian tumor xenograft model. COTI-2 was also studied in comparison, as well as in combination, with the standard agent Doxil®.

Materials and Methods:

Reagents and Compounds

COTI-2 mono-HCl salt (Lot# CKL-2-148) was stored at −20° C. until ready for use. A stock solution of COTI-2 mono-HCl salt was made at a concentration of 12 mg/ml; 235 mg of COTI-2 was mixed with 4.84 g of Captisol® (Lot# CY-04A-05006 Cydex Pharmaceuticals; Lenexa, Kans.) in 10.0 ml of Sterile Water for Injection (Hospira, Inc., Lake Forest, Ill.). The solution was prepared in a 60 ml amber vial and left to stir at 400 rpm for 1 h. The solution was then filtered with a 0.2 μm PVDF filter to achieve the 12 mg/ml stock concentration. The stock was further diluted to 6 mg/ml with 50 mM Captisol® solution in sterile water (at pH 3.0). The 6 mg/ml solution was also filtered with a 0.2 μm PVDF filter. Doxil® (Lot#0821642), was manufactured by Ortho Biotech (Raritan, N.J.), and was stored at 4° C. until used. It was diluted in a 0.9% NaCl solution to a concentration of 0.2 mg/ml to deliver a 2 mg/kg dose intravenously in a 10 ml/kg dose volume. All preparations were made fresh prior to their administration.

Cell Culture

The A2780 human ovarian tumor cell line was received from American Type Culture Collection (ATCC, Manassas, Va.). Cultures were maintained in RPMI 1640 (Hylcone Labs, Logan, Utah) supplemented with 5% fetal bovine serum, and housed in a 5% CO2 atmosphere. The cultures were expanded in tissue culture flasks at a 1:4 split ratio until a sufficient amount of cells were harvested.

Animals

Female athymic nude mice (CrTac: NCR-Foxnl^nu) were supplied by Taconic (Germantown, N.Y.). Mice were received at four weeks of age. All mice were acclimated for seven days prior to handling. The mice were housed in microisolator cages (Lab Products, Seaford, Del.) and maintained under specific pathogen-free conditions. The mice were fed PicoLab® irradiated mouse chow (Lab Diet, Richmond, Ind.) and autoclaved water was freely available. All procedures were carried out under the institutional guidelines of TGen Drug Development Services Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (Protocol #06001, Approved January 2006).

A2780 Human Ovarian Tumor Xenograft

Ninety mice were inoculated subcutaneously in the right flank with 0.1 ml of a 50% RPMI/50% Matrigel™ (BD Biosciences, Bedford, Mass.) mixture containing a suspension of A2780 tumor cells (approximately 1×107 cells/mouse). Four days following inoculation, tumors were measured using vernier calipers and tumor weight was calculated using the animal study management software, Study Director V1.6.80 (Study Log) (Cancer Res 59: 1049-1053). Seventy mice with an average group tumor size of 108 mg, with mice ranging from 61 to 184 mg, were pair-matched into seven groups of ten by random equilibration using Study Director (Day 1). Body weights were recorded when the mice were pair-matched and then taken twice weekly thereafter in conjunction with tumor measurements throughout the study. Gross observations were made at least once a day. The dosing schedule, indicated on Table 39, shows that with minor variation COTI-2 was dosed every other day 3 times weekly and Doxil® (2 mg/kg) was administered intravenously on Day 1 at a 10-ml/kg dose volume. The mice were sacrificed by regulated CO₂when the mean tumor volume of the control group reached approximately 2000 mg.

Data and Statistical Analysis

Mean tumor growth inhibition (TGI) was calculated utilizing the following formula:

$TGI = [1 - \frac{({\overline{χ}}_{Treated (Final)} - {\overline{χ}}_{Treated (Day 1)})}{({\overline{χ}}_{Control (Final)} - {\overline{χ}}_{Control (Day 1)}}] \times 100 %$

Tumors that regressed from the Day 1 starting size were removed from the calculations. All statistical analyses in the xenograft study were performed with GraphPad Prism® v4 software. Differences in Day 17 tumor weights were confirmed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) with the Tukey's Post Test. In addition to an ANOVA, a One-tailed Student's T test was used to compare the vehicle only group to each of the combination agent groups and single agent Doxil®. Increase in survival fraction was confirmed by the log rank test.

Results and Discussion:

This study determined the single agent efficacy of COTI-2 in the A2780 human ovarian tumor xenograft model. COTI-2 was also studied in comparison, as well as in combination, with the standard agent Doxil®. Efficacy was assessed by comparison of mean tumor weights.

Overall, each test agent was moderately tolerated with a weight loss of up to ≈10% (Table 39). Single agent COTI-2 and Doxil® treatments did result in tumor growth inhibition (up to 25.76%). Furthermore, the combination agent treatment groups exhibited better tumor growth inhibition (up to 53.80%) relative to the single agent treatment groups.

TABLE 39

Summary of the study parameters and results.

Maximum
Day 17

Dose

Schedule
weight loss
Mean tumor
Day 17
Day 17

Group
N
(mg/kg)
Route
(Day)
(%) (Day #)
weight (mg)
TGI (%)
CS*

Vehicle
10
—
IV
1, 3, 5, 7, 8,
10.84%
2,150.7 ±
—
0

Control

10, 12, 15,
(Day 15)
352.5

16, 17

COTI-2
10
12.5
IV
1, 3, 5, 7, 8,
10.35%
1,699.2 ±
22.04
0

10, 12, 15,
(Day 11)
241.4

16, 17

COTI-2
10
25.0
IV
1, 3, 5, 7, 8,
9.37%
1,738.4 ±
20.12
0

10, 12, 15,
(Day 8)
216.0

16, 17

COTI-2
10
50.0
IV
1, 3, 5, 7, 8,
8.65%
1,622.8 ±
25.76
0

10, 12, 15, 17
(Day 8)
403.0

Doxil ®
10
2.0
IV
1
3.76%
1,607.1 ±
25.35
0

(Day 4)
343.4

COTI-2
10
12.5
IV
1, 2, 5, 8,
7.67%
1,045.3 ±
47.44
1/10

10, 12, 15, 17
(Day 11)
305.7

Doxil ®

2.0
IV
1

COTI-2
10
25.0
IV
1, 2, 5, 8,
7.68%
1,046.0 ±
53.80
0

10, 12, 15, 17
(Day 8)
261.3

Doxil ®

2.0
IV
1

*CS = Complete Tumor Shrinkage

The combination of COTI-2 and Doxil® resulted in positive interaction trends (FIG. 54). In fact, the combination agents exhibited significantly smaller tumors compared to the vehicle control group (P<0.05), whereas there was no statistically significant difference in tumor size of the Doxil® single agent group relative to the vehicle control group (P>0.05), except at day 4. These data indicate that the COTI-2 and Doxil® combination agents perform better than the Doxil® single agent in this xenograft model.

Example 27
Evaluation of COTI-2 as a Single Agent and in Combination with Erbitux® in the HT-29 Human Colon Tumor Xenograft Model

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the activity of COTI-2 as a single agent and in combination with Erbitux® in the HT-29 human colon tumor xenograft model.

Materials and Methods:

Reagents and Compounds:

COTI-2 mono-HCl salt (Lot# CKL-2-148) stored at −20° C. until ready for use. A stock solution of COTI-2 was made at a concentration of 12 mg/ml; 235 mg of COTI-2 was mixed with 4.84 g of Captisol® (Lot# CY-04A-05006 Cydex Pharmaceuticals; Lenexa, Kans.) in 10.0 ml of Sterile Water for Injection (Hospira, Inc., Lake Forest, Ill.). The solution was prepared in a 60 ml amber vial and left to stir at 400 rpm for 1 h. The solution was then filtered with a 0.2 μm PVDF filter to achieve the 12 mg/ml stock concentration. The stock was further diluted to 6 mg/ml with 50 mM Captisol® solution in sterile water (at pH 3.0). The 6 mg/ml solution was also filtered with a 0.2 μm PVDF filter and was administered intravenously with respect to the individual groups. Erbitux® (Lot#07C00373B), was manufactured by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (Princeton, N.J.), and was stored at 4° C. until used. Erbitux® was given intraperitoneally at a volume of 0.5 ml per mouse to deliver 1 mg/dose every three days for five treatments (q3d×5). All preparations were made fresh prior to their administration.

Cell Culture

The HT-29 human colon tumor cell line was received from American Type Culture Collection (ATCC, Manassas, Va.). Cultures were maintained in RPMI 1640 (Hylcone Labs, Logan, Utah) supplemented with 5% fetal bovine serum, and housed in a 5% CO₂atmosphere. The cultures were expanded in tissue culture flasks at a 1:4 split ratio until a sufficient amount of cells were harvested.

Animals

HT-29 Human Colon Tumor Xenograft

Eighty five mice were inoculated subcutaneously in the right flank with 0.1 ml of a 50% RPMI/50% Matrigel™ (BD Biosciences, Bedford, Mass.) mixture containing a suspension of HT-29 tumor cells (approximately 5×10⁶cells/mouse). Seven days following inoculation, tumors were measured using vernier calipers and tumor weight was calculated using the animal study management software, Study Director V.1.6.80 (Study Log) (Cancer Res 59: 1049-1053). Seventy mice with average group tumor sizes of 189 mg, with mice ranging from 123 to 252 mg, were pair-matched into seven groups of ten by random equilibration using Study Director (Day 1). Body weights were recorded when the mice were pair-matched and then taken twice weekly thereafter in conjunction with tumor measurements throughout the study. Gross observations were made at least once a day. On Day 1 all groups were dosed intravenously and/or intraperitoneally with respect to their group (See Table 40). The vehicle, COTI-2 (12.5 mg/kg) and COTI-2 (25 mg/kg) groups were dosed daily 5 times per week via IV injection, except for the first week. COTI-2 in the remaining groups was dosed 3 times per week on every other day via IV injection. Erbitux® (1 mg/dose) was administered intraperitoneally every three days for five treatments (q3d×5) at 0.5 ml/mouse dose volume. The mice were sacrificed by regulated CO₂when the individual mouse tumor volume reached approximately 2000 mg.

Data and Statistical Analysis

Mean tumor growth inhibition (TGI) was calculated utilizing the following formula:

$TGI = [1 - \frac{({\overline{χ}}_{Treated (Final)} - {\overline{χ}}_{Treated (Day 1)})}{({\overline{χ}}_{Control (Final)} - {\overline{χ}}_{Control (Day 1)}}] \times 100 %$

Tumors that regressed from the Day 1 starting size were removed from the calculations. All statistical analyses in the xenograft study were performed with GraphPad Prism® v4 software. Differences in Day 15 tumor weights were confined using the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) with the Tukey's Post Test. In addition to an ANOVA, a One-tailed Student's T test was used to compare the vehicle only group to each of the combination agent groups and single agent Erbitux® group. Increase in survival fraction was confirmed by the log rank test.

Results and Discussion:

This study determined the single agent efficacy of COTI-2 in the HT-29 human colon tumor xenograft model. COTI-2 was also studied in combination with the standard agent, Erbitux®.

Erbitux® was well-tolerated and produced no weight loss alone. Interestingly, weight loss was also not observed in the COTI-2 (12.5 mg/kg) and Erbitux® combination group in which COTI-2 was administered 3 times per week on every other day.

The combination agent groups exhibited a significant tumor reduction early during the study (days 4 & 8) relative to the vehicle control group (FIG. 55). However, there was no significant difference in tumor weight between the single agent Erbitux® group and the vehicle control group. These data suggest that the COTI-2 and Erbitux® combination performs better than the single agent COTI-2 or Erbitux®.

Example 28
Evaluation of COTI-2 as a Single Agent and in Combination with Erbitux® in the HCT-116 Human Colon Tumor Xenograft Model

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the activity of COTI-2 as a single agent and in combination with Erbitux® in the HCT-116 human colon tumor xenograft model.

Materials and Methods:

Reagents and Compounds

COTI-2 mono HCl salt (Lot# CKL-2-148) was stored at −20° C. until ready for use. A stock solution of COTI-2 was made at a concentration of 12 mg/ml; 235 mg of COTI-2 was mixed with 4.84 g of Captisol® (Lot# CY-04A-05006 Cydex Pharmaceuticals; Lenexa, Kans.) in 10.0 ml of Sterile Water for Injection (Hospira, Inc., Lake Forest, Ill.). The solution was prepared in a 60 ml amber vial and left to stir at 400 rpm for 1 h. The solution was then filtered with a 0.2 μm PVDF filter to achieve the 12 mg/ml stock concentration. The stock was further diluted to 6 mg/ml with 50 mM Captisol® solution in sterile water (at pH 3.0). The 6 mg/ml solution was also filtered with a 0.2 μm PVDF filter and was given intravenously with respect to the individual groups. Erbitux® (Lot#07C00373B), was manufactured by Bristol Meyers Squibb Company (Princeton, N.J.), and was stored at 4° C. until used. Erbitux® was given intraperitoneally at a volume of 0.5 ml per mouse to deliver a 1 mg/dose every three days for four treatments (q3d×4). All preparations were made fresh prior to their administration.

Cell Culture

The HCT-116 human colon tumor cell line was received from American Type Culture Collection (ATCC, Manassas, Va.). Cultures were maintained in RPMI 1640 (Hylcone Labs, Logan, Utah) supplemented with 5% fetal bovine serum, and housed in a 5% CO₂atmosphere. The cultures were expanded in tissue culture flasks at a 1:6 split ratio until a sufficient amount of cells were harvested.

Animals

HCT-116 Human Colon Tumor Xenograft

Ninety mice were inoculated subcutaneously in the right flank with 0.1 ml of a 50% RPMI/50% Matrigel™ (BD Biosciences, Bedford, Mass.) mixture containing a suspension of HCT-116 tumor cells (approximately 5×10⁶cells/mouse). Three days following inoculation, tumors were measured using vernier calipers and tumor weight was calculated using the animal study management software, Study Director V.1.6.80 (Study Log) (Cancer Res 59: 1049-1053). Seventy mice with average group tumor sizes of 136 mg, with mice ranging from 73 to 194 mg, were pair-matched into seven groups of ten by random equilibration using Study Director (Day 1). Body weights were recorded when the mice were pair-matched and then taken twice weekly thereafter in conjunction with tumor measurements throughout the study. Gross observations were made at least once a day. On Day 1 all groups were dosed intravenously and/or intraperitoneally with respect to their assigned group (See Table 40). The COTI-2 single agent groups were treated 3 times per week on every other day for the first week of the study then dosed 5 times per week for the remainder of the study. In the COTI-2 and Erbitux® combination treatment groups, COTI-2 was administered 3 times per week on every other day. Erbitux® (1 mg/dose) was administered intraperitoneally every three days for five treatments (q3d×5) at 0.5 ml/mouse dose volume. The mice were sacrificed by regulated CO₂when the individual mouse tumor volume reached approximately 2000 mg.

Data and Statistical Analysis

All statistical analyses in the xenograft study were performed with GraphPad Prism® v4 software. Increase in survival fraction was confirmed by the log rank test. A Student's T test was used to evaluate difference in tumor weight among the treatment groups.

Results and discussion:

This study determined the single agent efficacy of COTI-2 in the HCT-116 human colon tumor xenograft model. COTI-2 was also studied in combination with the standard agent, Erbitux®.

The HCT-116 model is an aggressive model in terms of growth kinetics. Therefore, it is likely that treatment was less tolerated due to the early onset of cachexia observed in colon tumor xenograft models. There was an increase in body weight loss by the test agent groups compared to vehicle control (Table 40); in addition, it may be possible that the COTI-2 treated mice experienced a drug accumulation effect. Erbitux® was well-tolerated and produced a moderate weight loss, which may have been a result of tumor burden.

TABLE 40

Summary of the study parameters and results.

Mean

Maximum
Day 15
survival

Dose

Schedule
weight loss
Mean tumor
(Day ±

Group
N
(mg/kg)
Route
(Day)
(%) (Day #)
weight (mg)
SEM)
Deaths

Vehicle
10
—
IV
1, 3, 4, 5, 8,
17.1%
1,426.8 ±
11.5 ±
3

Control

10, 11, 12, 15
(Day 15)
141.5
1.03

COTI-2
10
12.5
IV
1, 3, 4, 5, 8,
20.96%
1,471.3 ±
12.8 ±
1

10, 11, 12, 15,
(Day 17)
155.9
0.76

16, 17

COTI-2
10
25.0
IV
1, 3, 4, 5, 8,
11.12%
1,376.9 ±
11.5 ±
2

10, 11, 12, 15
(Day 8)
139.4
0.65

COTI-2
10
50.0
IV
1, 3, 5, 8, 10,
18.43%
1,353.4 ±
12.6 ±
2

11, 12, 15, 16,
(Day 22)
127.3
0.83

17, 18, 19, 22

Erbitux ®
10
2.0
IP
1, 4, 7, 10, 13
17.15%
1,196.2 ±
13.6 ±
0

(Day 15)
104.1
0.73

COTI-2
10
12.5
IV
1, 3, 5, 8, 10,
15.87%
1,126.2 ±
13.5 ±
1

12, 15, 17, 19, 22
(Day 15)
147.7
1.19

Erbitux ®

2.0
IP
1, 4, 7, 10, 13

COTI-2
10
25.0
IV
1, 3, 5, 8,
19.85%
1,221.2 ±
14.2 ±
0

10, 12, 15, 17
(Day 17)
93.7
0.74

Erbitux ®

2.0
IP
1, 4, 7, 10, 13

FIG. 56 shows a trend with respect to a decrease in tumor size with the COTI-2 (12.5 mg/kg) and Erbitux® (1 mg/dose) combination regimen. The COTI-2 (25 mg/kg) and Erbitux® (1 mg/dose) combination regimen produced a survival fraction that was significantly increased from the vehicle control group (p<0.05). There was no significant difference in the mean survival of the Erbitux® only treated group when compared to the vehicle control group. These data indicate that the COTI-2 and Erbitux® combination increases survival.

Claims

1. A method of treating endometrial cancer in a mammal in need thereof comprising administering a therapeutically effective amount of a compound comprising a compound of Formula I or IA:
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the cancer is characterized by a KRAS mutation.
3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising simultaneously or sequentially administering an anti-cancer agent in combination with the compound.
4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the combination produces a synergistic therapeutic effect as compared to sole administration of either the anti-cancer agent or the compound.
5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the anti-cancer agent is an mTOR-Raptor complex inhibitor.
6. The method according to claim 4, wherein the anticancer agent is a cytotoxic agent.
7. The method according to claim 4, wherein the anti-cancer agent is selected from the group consisting of cisplatin, rapamycin, tecrolimus, temsirolimus, paclitaxel, erlotinib, cetuximab, doxorubicin, and combinations thereof.
8. The method according to claim 4, wherein the dose of the anti-cancer agent is selected to lower overall toxicity as compared to administration of the anti-cancer agent alone in an amount sufficient to achieve the same treatment effect on cancerous cells.
9. The method according to claim 4, wherein the dose of at least one of the anti-cancer agent or the compound is selected to increase the overall treatment effect on cancerous cells as compared to administration of the anti-cancer agent alone in an amount producing the same toxicity.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/363,558, filed Feb. 1, 2012, entitled “Inhibitor Compounds and Cancer Treatment Methods,” which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/505,295 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,138,191), filed Jul. 17, 2009, entitled “Inhibitor Compounds and Cancer Treatment Methods,” which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/013,079 (now U.S. Pat. No. 8,034,815), filed Jan. 11, 2008, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/884,489, filed Jan. 11, 2007, which also claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/884,504, filed Jan. 11, 2007. In addition, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/505,295, filed Jul. 17, 2009 also claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/081,679, filed Jul. 17, 2008, which also claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/149,950, filed Feb. 4, 2009, which are each incorporated herein in their entirety by reference.

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European Search Report for Application No. 11761876.9 dated Jul. 15, 2014.

Related Publications (1)

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	20140072555 A1	Mar 2014	US

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61149950	Feb 2009	US
61081676	Jul 2008	US
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Child	12505295		US

Inhibitor compounds and cancer treatment methods

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