Structure-based design and subsequent optimization of 2-tolyl-(1,2,3-triazol-1-yl-4-carboxamide) inhibitors of p38 MAP kinase

A computer-aided drug design strategy leads to the identification of a new class of p38 inhibitors based on the 2-tolyl-(1,2,3-triazol-1-yl-4-carboxamide) scaffold. The tolyl triazole amides provided a potent platform amenable to optimization. Further exploration leads to compounds with greater than 100-fold improvement in binding affinity to p38. Derivatives prepared to alter the physicochemical properties produced inhibitors with IC50’s in human whole blood as low as 83 nM.