1,5-Benzodiazepine inhibitors of HCV NS5B polymerase

Optimization through parallel synthesis of a novel series of hepatitis C virus (HCV) NS5B polymerase inhibitors led to the identification of (R)-11-(4-benzyloxy-2-fluorophenyl)-6-hydroxy-3,3-dimethyl-10-(6-methylpyridine-2-carbonyl)-2,3,4,5,10,11-hexahydro-dibenzo[b,e][1,4]diazepin-1-one 11zc and (R)-11-(4-benzyloxy-2-fluorophenyl)-6-hydroxy-3,3-dimethyl-10-(2,5-dimethyloxazol-4-carbonyl)2,3,4,5,10,11-hexahydro-dibenzo[b,e][1,4]diazepin-1-one 11zk as potent ( replicon EC50 = 400 nM and 270 nM, respectively) and selective (CC50 > 20 mu M) inhibitors of HCV replication. These data warrant further lead-optimization efforts. (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.