Novel [1,2,4] Triazol [4,3-a] Pyridine Derivatives as Potential Selective c-Met Inhibitors with Improved Pharmacokinetic Properties

Aims: Total twenty-nine [1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-a]pyrazine derivatives were designed and synthesized. Method: The target compounds, especially 4aa, showed potent activity to inhibit c-Met both in an enzyme assay and a cellular assay. The comprehensive screening for the inhibition of 60 different kinases revealed that 4aa could selectively inhibit c-Met while had no effect on other kinases, indicating 4aa is an excellent c-Met selective inhibitor. Result: The flow cytometry studies found that 4aa had a similar behavior to the positive control SGX-523 in terms of causing the tumor cell apoptosis and blocking cell-cycle progression. More importantly, 4aa showed much better pharmacokinetic properties than SGX-523. Altogether, the findings suggested the target compounds may be potential anti-tumor drug candidates.