Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of 3,4-Diaryloxazolones:  A New Class of Orally Active Cyclooxygenase-2 Inhibitors

A series of 3,4-diaryloxazolones were prepared and evaluated for their ability to inhibit cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). Extensive structure-activity relationship work was carried out within this series, and a number of potent and selective COX-2 inhibitors were identified. The replacement of the methyl sulfone group on the 4-phenyl ring by a sulfonamide moiety resulted in compounds with superior in vivo antiinflammatory properties. In the sulfonamide series, the introduction of a methyl group at the 5-position of the oxazolone ring gave rise to very COX-2-selective compounds but with decreased in vivo activity. Selected 3,4-diaryloxazolones exhibited excellent activities in experimental models of arthritis and hyperalgesia. The in vivo activity of these compounds was confirmed with the evaluation of their antipyretic effectiveness and their ability to inhibit migration of proinflammatory cells. As expected from their COX-2 selectivity, most of the active compounds lacked gastrointestinal toxicity in vivo in rats after a 4-day treatment of 100 mg/kg/day. Within this novel series, sulfonamides 9-11 have been selected for further preclinical evaluation.