Discovery of S-217622, a Noncovalent Oral SARS-CoV-2 3CL Protease Inhibitor Clinical Candidate for Treating COVID-19.
Unoh, Y., Uehara, S., Nakahara, K., Nobori, H., Yamatsu, Y., Yamamoto, S., Maruyama, Y., Taoda, Y., Kasamatsu, K., Suto, T., Kouki, K., Nakahashi, A., Kawashima, S., Sanaki, T., Toba, S., Uemura, K., Mizutare, T., Ando, S., Sasaki, M., Orba, Y., Sawa, H., Sato, A., Sato, T., Kato, T., Tachibana, Y.(2022) J Med Chem 65: 6499-6512
- PubMed: 35352927 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c00117
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
7VTH, 7VU6 - PubMed Abstract: 
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has resulted in millions of deaths and threatens public health and safety. Despite the rapid global spread of COVID-19 vaccines, effective oral antiviral drugs are urgently needed. Here, we describe the discovery of S-217622 , the first oral noncovalent, nonpeptidic SARS-CoV-2 3CL protease inhibitor clinical candidate. S-217622 was discovered via virtual screening followed by biological screening of an in-house compound library, and optimization of the hit compound using a structure-based drug design strategy. S-217622 exhibited antiviral activity in vitro against current outbreaking SARS-CoV-2 variants and showed favorable pharmacokinetic profiles in vivo for once-daily oral dosing. Furthermore, S-217622 dose-dependently inhibited intrapulmonary replication of SARS-CoV-2 in mice, indicating that this novel noncovalent inhibitor could be a potential oral agent for treating COVID-19.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Shionogi Pharmaceutical Research Center, 3-1-1 Futaba-cho, Toyonaka, Osaka 561-0825, Japan.