Novel, Potent Small-Molecule Inhibitors of the Molecular Chaperone Hsp90 Discovered through Structure-Based Design

The crystal structure of a previously reported screening hit 1 (CCT018159) bound to the N terminal domain of molecular chaperone Hsp90 has been used to design 5-amide analogues. These exhibit enhanced potency against the target in binding and functional assays with accompanying appropriate cellular pharmacodynamic changes. Compound 11 (VER-49009) compares favorably with the clinically evaluated 17-AAG.