Dihydroxypyrimidine-4-carboxamides as novel potent and selective HIV integrase inhibitors

Human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) integrase, one of the three constitutive viral enzymes required for replication, is a rational target for chemotherapeutic intervention in the treatment of AIDS that has also recently been confirmed in the clinical setting. We report here on the design and synthesis of N-benzyl-5,6-dihydroxypyrimidine-4-carboxamides as a class of agents which exhibits potent inhibition of the HIV-integrase-catalyzed strand transfer process. In the current study, structural modifications on these molecules were made in order to examine effects on HIV-integrase inhibitory potencies. One of the most interesting compounds for this series is 2-[1-(dimethylamino)-1-methylethyl]-N-(4-fluorobenzyl)-5,6-dihydroxypyrimidine-4-carboxamide 38, with a CIC95 of 78 nM in the cell-based assay in the presence of serum proteins. The compound has favorable pharmacokinetic properties in preclinical species (rats, dogs, and monkeys) and shows no liabilities in several counterscreening assays, highlighting its potential as a clinically useful antiviral agent.