2021•Journal of Medicinal ChemistryOpen access
Discovery of LYC-55716: A Potent, Selective, and Orally Bioavailable Retinoic Acid Receptor-Related Orphan Receptor-γ (RORγ) Agonist for Use in Treating Cancer
Thomas D. Aicher, Chad A. Van Huis, Alexander R. Hurd, Donald J. Skalitzky, Clarke Taylor, Omar M. Beleh, Gary D. Glick, Peter L. Toogood, Bing Yang, Tao Zheng, Chang‐Xin Huo, Jie Gao, Chenxi Qiao, Xiaolong Tian, Junping Zhang, Kellie Demock, Ling‐Yang Hao, Charles A. Lesch, Rodney Morgan, Jacques Moisan, Yahong Wang, JoAnn Scatina, Chrystal M. Paulos, Weiping Zou, Laura Carter, Xiao Hu
Abstract
Retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor γ (RORc, RORγ, or NR1F3) is the nuclear receptor master transcription factor that drives the function and development of IL-17-producing T helper cells (Th17), cytotoxic T cells (Tc17), and subsets of innate lymphoid cells. Activation of RORγ + T cells in the tumor microenvironment is hypothesized to render immune infiltrates more effective at countering tumor growth. To test this hypothesis, a family of benzoxazines was optimized to provide LYC-55716 ( 37c ), a potent, selective, and orally bioavailable small-molecule RORγ agonist. LYC-55716 decreases tumor growth and enhances survival in preclinical tumor models and was nominated as a clinical development candidate for evaluation in patients with solid tumors.