Structure-activity relationship studies of ME1111, a novel antifungal agent for topical treatment of onychomycosis

Onychomycosis is a prevalent disease in many areas of the world, affecting approximately 5.5% of the global population. Among several subtypes of onychomycosis, distal-lateral-subungual onychomycosis is the most common, and topical onychomycosis agents effective against this pathogenesis require properties such as high nail penetration and low affinity for keratin, the main component of the nail. To develop novel and highly effective antifungal agents with such properties, we first established an efficient ex vivo evaluation method using bovine hoof slices and human nails, and then used this method to screen an in-house compound library. Using this strategy, we identified 1, a structure with a phenyl-pyrazole skeleton. In subsequent analyses, we investigated the structure-activity relationship of 1, permitting the identification of 28 (Development Code ME1111).