Investigation of thiazolyl-benzothiophenamides as potential agents for African sleeping sickness

African sleeping sickness is a potentially fatal neglected disease affecting sub-Saharan Africa. High-throughput screening identified the thiazolyl-benzothiophenamide 1 to be active against the causative parasite, Trypanosoma brucei. This work establishes structure-activity relationships of 1, guiding the design of second generation derivatives. After screening against the clinically relevant species T. b. rhodesiense, the derivative 16 was identified as a suitable candidate for further investigation.