Discovery of 1-[3-(4-Bromo-2-methyl-2H-pyrazol-3-yl)-4-methoxyphenyl]-3-(2, 4-difluorophenyl)urea (Nelotanserin) and Related 5-Hydroxytryptamine 2A Inverse Agonists for the Treatment of Insomnia

Bradley R. Teegarden, Hongmei Li, Honnappa Jayakumar, Sonja Strah-Pleynet, Peter I. Dosa, Susan D. Selaya, Naomi Kato, Katie H. Elwell, Jarrod Davidson, Karen Cheng, Hazel Saldana, John M. Frazer, Kevin Whelan, Jonathan Foster, Stephan Espitia, Robert R. Webb, Nigel R.A. Beeley, William Thomsen, Stephen R. Morairty, Thomas S. KilduffHussien A. Al-Shamma

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

20 Scopus citations

Abstract

Insomnia affects a growing portion of the adult population in the U.S. Most current therapeutic approaches to insomnia primarily address sleep onset latency. Through the 5-hydroxytryptamine2A (5-HT2A) receptor, serotonin (5-HT) plays a role in the regulation of sleep architecture, and antagonists/ inverse-agonists of 5-HT2A have been shown to enhance slow wave sleep (SWS). We describe here a series of 5-HT2A inverse-agonists that when dosed in rats, both consolidate the stages of NREM sleep, resulting in fewer awakenings, and increase a physiological measure of sleep intensity. These studies resulted in the discovery of 1-[3-(4-bromo-2- methyl-2i/-pyrazol-3-yl)-4-methoxyphenyl]-3-(2,4-difluorophenyl)urea (Nelotanserin), a potent inverse-agonist of 5-HT2A that was advanced into clinical trials for the treatment of insomnia.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1923-1936
Number of pages14
JournalJournal of medicinal chemistry
Volume53
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 11 2010
Externally publishedYes

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