Structure- and Property-Based Design of Aminooxazoline Xanthenes as Selective, Orally Efficacious, and CNS Penetrable BACE Inhibitors for the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease

A structure- and property-based drug design approach was employed to identify aminooxazoline xanthenes as potent and selective human β-secretase inhibitors. These compounds exhibited good isolated enzyme, cell potency, and selectivity against the structurally related aspartyl protease cathepsin D. Our efforts resulted in the identification of a potent, orally bioavailable CNS penetrant compound that exhibited in vivo efficacy. A single oral dose of compound 11a resulted in a significant reduction of CNS Aβ40 in naive rats.