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MedKoo CAT#: 203165
CAS#: 273404-37-8
Description: Belnacasan, also known as VX-765, is designed to inhibit Caspase, which is an enzyme that controls the generation of two cytokines, IL-1b and IL-18. VX-765 has been shown to inhibit acute seizures in preclinical models. In addition, VX-765 has shown activity in preclinical models of chronic epilepsy. VX-765 had been dosed in over 100 patients in phase-I and phase-IIa clinical trials relating to other diseases, including a 28-day phase-IIa clinical trial in patients with psoriasis. It has completed the treatment phase of a phase-IIa clinical trial of VX-765 that enrolled approximately 75 patients with treatment-resistant epilepsy. The double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial was designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability and clinical activity of VX-765.
MedKoo Cat#: 203165
Name: Belnacasan (VX765)
CAS#: 273404-37-8
Chemical Formula: C24H33ClN4O6
Exact Mass: 508.20886
Molecular Weight: 508.99
Elemental Analysis: C, 56.63; H, 6.53; Cl, 6.97; N, 11.01; O, 18.86
Synonym: VX 765, VX765, VX-765, Belnacasan
IUPAC/Chemical Name: (S)-1-((S)-2-(4-amino-3-chlorobenzamido)-3,3-dimethylbutanoyl)-N-((2R,3S)-2-ethoxy-5-oxotetrahydrofuran-3-yl)pyrrolidine-2-carboxamide
InChi Key: SJDDOCKBXFJEJB-MOKWFATOSA-N
InChi Code: InChI=1S/C24H33ClN4O6/c1-5-34-23-16(12-18(30)35-23)27-21(32)17-7-6-10-29(17)22(33)19(24(2,3)4)28-20(31)13-8-9-15(26)14(25)11-13/h8-9,11,16-17,19,23H,5-7,10,12,26H2,1-4H3,(H,27,32)(H,28,31)/t16-,17-,19+,23+/m0/s1
SMILES Code: O=C([C@H]1N(C([C@@H](NC(C2=CC=C(N)C(Cl)=C2)=O)C(C)(C)C)=O)CCC1)N[C@@H](C3)[C@H](OCC)OC3=O
VX-765 is a novel Caspase-1 inhibitor being investigated for the treatment of epilepsy., currently being developed by Vertex. VX-765 is an orally-absorbed pro-drug of VRT-043198, a potent and selective inhibitor of ICE/caspase-1 sub-family caspases. VRT-043198 exhibits 100-10,000-fold selectivity against other caspase-3 and -6-9. In cultures of peripheral blood mononuclear cells and whole blood from healthy subjects stimulated with bacterial products, VRT-043198 inhibited the release of Interleukin (IL)-1beta and IL-18, but had little effect on the release of several other cytokines, including IL-1alpha, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, IL-6 and IL-8. In contrast, VRT-043198 had little or no demonstrable activity in cellular models of apoptosis and did not affect the proliferation of activated primary T-cells or T-cell lines. VX-765 was efficiently converted to VRT-043198 when administered orally to mice and inhibited LPS-induced cytokine secretion. In addition, VX-765 reduced disease severity and the expression of inflammatory mediators in models of rheumatoid arthritis and skin inflammation.
According to Vertex's website, VX-765 has been shown to inhibit acute seizures in preclinical models of acute epilepsy and has shown activity in preclinical models of chronic epilepsy that do not respond to standard anti-epileptic drugs. Vertex recently initiated a Phase 2 proof-of-concept clinical trial of VX-765 in patients with epilepsy, which could result in interim clinical data being available as early as the second half of 2010. The Phase 2 trial for VX-765 is expected to enroll approximately 75 patients with treatment-resistant epilepsy.
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