Design and synthesis of disubstituted thiophene and thiazole based inhibitors of JNK

From high throughput screening, we discovered compound 1, the prototype for a series of disubstituted thiophene inhibitors of JNK which is selective towards closely related MAP kinases p38 and Erk2. Herein we describe the evolution of these compounds to a novel class of thiophene and thiazole JNK inhibitors that retain favorable solubility, permeability, and P-gp properties for development as CNS agents for treatment of neurodegeneration. Compound 61 demonstrated JNK3 IC(50) = 77 nM and retained the excellent broad kinase selectivity observed for the series. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.