Inhibition of p38 kinase using symmetrical and unsymmetrical diphenyl ureas   

Abstract: This invention relates to the use of a group of aryl ureas in treating cytokine mediated diseases and proteolytic enzyme mediated diseases, and pharmaceutical compositions for use in such therapy.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to the use of a group of aryl ureas in treating cytokine mediated diseases and proteolytic enzyme mediated diseases, and pharmaceutical compositions for use in such therapy.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Two classes of effector molecules which are critical for the progression of rheumatoid arthritis are pro-inflammatory cytokines and tissue degrading proteases. Recently, a family of kinases was described which is instrumental in controlling the transcription and translation of the structural genes coding for these effector molecules.

The mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase family is made up of a series of structurally related proline-directed serine/threonine kinases which are activated either by growth factors (such as EGF) and phorbol esters (ERK), or by IL-1, TNFα or stress (p38, INK). The MAP kinases are responsible for the activation of a wide variety of transcription factors and proteins involved in transcriptional control of cytokine production. A pair of novel protein kinases involved in the regulation of cytokine synthesis was recently described by a group from SmithKline Beecham (Lee et al. Nature 1994, 372, 739). These enzymes were isolated based on their affinity to bond to a class of compounds, named CSAIDSs (cytokine suppressive anti-inflammatory drugs) by SKB. The CSALDs, bicyclic pyridinyl imidazoles, have been shown to have cytokine inhibitory activity both in vitro and in vivo. The isolated enzymes, CSBP-1 and -2 (CSAID binding protein 1 and 2) have been cloned and expressed. A murine homologue for CSBP-2, p38, has also been reported (Han et al. Science 1994, 265, 808).

Early studies suggested that CSAIDs function by interfering with m-RNA translational events during cytokine biosynthesis Inhibition of p38 has been shown to inhibit both cytokine production (eg., TNFα, IL-1, IL-6, IL-8) and proteolytic enzyme production (eg., MMP-1, MMP-3) in vitro and/or in vivo.

Clinical studies have linked TNFα production and/or signaling to a number of diseases including rheumatoid arthritis (Main. J. Royal Coll. Physicians London 1996, 30, 344). In addition, excessive levels of TNFα have been implicated in a wide variety of inflammatory and/or immunomodulatory diseases, including acute rheumatic fever (Yegin et al. Lancet 1997, 349, 170), bone resorption (Pacifici et al. J. Clin. Endocrinol. Metabol. 1997, 82, 29), postmenopausal osteoperosis (Pacifici et al. J. Bone Mineral Res. 1996, 11, 1043), sepsis (Blackwell et al. Br. J. Anaesth. 1996, 77, 110), gram negative sepsis (Debets et al. Prog. Clin. Biol. Res. 1989, 308, 463), septic shock (Tracey et al. Nature 1987, 330, 662; Girardin et al. New England J. Med. 1988, 319, 397), endotoxic shock (Beutler et al. Science 1985, 229, 869; Ashkenasi et al. Proc. Nat\'l. Acad. Sci. USA 1991, 88, 10535), toxic shock syndrome, (Saha et al. J. Immunol. 1996, 157, 3869; Lina et al. FEMS Immunol. Med. Microbiol. 1996, 13, 81), systemic inflammatory response syndrome (Anon. Crit. Care Med. 1992, 20, 864), inflammatory bowel diseases (Stokkers et al. J. Inflamm. 1995-6, 47, 97) including Crohn\'s disease (van Deventer et al. Aliment. Pharmacol. Therapeu. 1996, 10 (Suppl. 2), 107; van Dullemen et al. Gastroenterology 1995, 109, 129) and ulcerative colitis (Masuda et al. J. Clin. Lab. Immunol. 1995, 46, 111), Jarisch-Herxheimer reactions (Fekade et al. New England J. Med. 1996, 335, 311), asthma (Amrani et al. Rev. Malad. Respir. 1996, 13, 539), adult respiratory distress syndrome (Roten et al. Am. Rev. Respir. Dis. 1991, 143, 590; Suter et al. Am. Rev. Respir. Dis. 1992, 145, 1016), acute pulmonary fibrotic diseases (Pan et al. Pathol. Int. 1996, 46, 91), pulmonary sarcoidosis (Ishioka et al. Sarcoidosis Vasculitis Diffuse Lung Dis. 1996, 13, 139), allergic respiratory diseases (Casale et al. Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Biol. 1996, 15, 35), silicosis (Gossart et al. J. Immunol. 1996, 156, 1540; Vanhee et al. Eur. Respir. J. 1995, 8, 834), coal worker\'s pneumoconiosis (Boren et al. Am. Rev. Respir. Dis. 1988, 138, 1589), alveolar injury (Horinouchi et al. Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Biol. 1996, 14, 1044), hepatic failure (Gantner et al. J. Pharmacol. Exp. Therap. 1997, 280, 53), liver disease during acute inflammation (Kim et al. J. Biol. Chem. 1997, 272, 1402), severe alcoholic hepatitis (Bird et al. Ann. Intern. Med. 1990, 112, 917), malaria (Grau et al. Immunol. Rev. 1989, 112, 49; Taverne et al. Parasitol. Today 1996, 12, 290) including Plasmodium falciparum malaria (Perlmann et al. Infect. Immunit. 1997, 65, 116) and cerebral malaria (Rudin et al. Am. J. Pathol. 1997, 150, 257), non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM; Stephens et al. J. Biol. Chem. 1997, 272, 971; Ofei et al. Diabetes 1996, 45, 881), congestive heart failure (Doyama et al. Int. J. Cardiol. 1996, 54, 217; McMurray et al. Br. Heart J. 1991, 66, 356), damage following heart disease (Malkiel et al. Mol. Med. Today 1996, 2, 336), atherosclerosis (Parums et al. J. Pathol. 1996, 179, A46), Alzheimer\'s disease (Fagarasan et al. Brain Res. 1996, 723, 231; Aisen et al. Gerontology 1997, 43, 143), acute encephalitis (Ichiyama et al. J. Neural. 1996, 243, 457), brain injury (Cannon et al. Crit. Care Med. 1992, 20, 1414; Hansbrough et al. Surg. Clin. N. Am. 1987, 67, 69; Marano et al. Surg. Gynecol. Obstetr. 1990, 170, 32), multiple sclerosis (M. S.; Coyle. Adv. Neuroimmunol. 1996, 6, 143; Matusevicius et al. J. Neuroimmunol. 1996, 66, 115) including demyelation and oligiodendrocyte loss in multiple sclerosis (Brosnan et al. Brain Pathol. 1996, 6, 243), advanced cancer (MucWierzgon et al. J. Biol. Regulators Homeostatic Agents 1996, 10, 25), lymphoid malignancies (Levy et al. Crit. Rev. Immunol. 1996, 16, 31), pancreatitis (Exley et al. Gut 1992, 33, 1126) including systemic complications in acute pancreatitis (McKay et al. Br. J. Surg. 1996, 83, 919), impaired wound healing in infection inflammation and cancer (Buck et al. Am. J. Pathol. 1996, 149, 195), myelodysplastic syndromes (Raza et al. Int. J. Hematol. 1996, 63, 265), systemic lupus erythematosus (Maury et al. Arthritis Rheum. 1989, 32, 146), biliary cirrhosis (Miller et al. Am. J. Gasteroenterolog. 1992, 87, 465), bowel necrosis (Sun et al. J. Clin. Invest. 1988, 81, 1328), psoriasis (Christophers. Austr. J. Dermatol. 1996, 37, S4), radiation injury (Redlich et al. J. Immunol. 1996, 157, 1705), and toxicity following administration of monoclonal antibodies such as OKT3 (Brod et al. Neurology 1996, 46, 1633). TNFα levels have also been related to host-versus-graft reactions (Pignet et al. Immunol. Ser. 1992, 56, 409) including ischemia reperfusion injury (Colletti et al. J. Clin. Invest. 1989, 85, 1333) and allograft rejections including those of the kidney (Maury et al. J. Exp. Med. 1987, 166, 1132), liver (Imagawa et al. Transplantation 1990, 50, 219), heart (Bolling et al. Transplantation 1992, 53, 283), and skin (Stevens et al. Transplant. Proc. 1990, 22, 1924), lung allograft rejection (Grossman et al. Immunol. Allergy Clin. N. Am. 1989, 9, 153) including chronic lung allograft rejection (obliterative bronchitis; LoCicero et al. J. Thorac. Cardiovasc. Surg. 1990, 99, 1059), as well as complications due to total hip replacement (Cirino et al. Life Sci. 1996, 59, 86). TNFα has also been linked to infectious diseases (review: Beutler et al. Crit. Care Med. 1993, 21, 5423; Degre. Biotherapy 1996, 8, 219) including tuberculosis (Rook et al. Med. Malad. Infect. 1996, 26, 904), Helicobacter pylori infection during peptic ulcer disease (Beales et al. Gastroenterology 1997, 112, 136), Chaga\'s disease resulting from Trypanosoma cruzi infection (Chandrasekar et al. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 1996, 223, 365), effects of Shiga-like toxin resulting from E. coli infection (Hanel et al. J. Clin. Invest. 1992, 56, 40), the effects of enterotoxin A resulting from Staphylococcus infection (Fischer et al. J. Immunol. 1990, 144, 4663), meningococcal infection (Waage et al. Lancet 1987, 355; Ossege et al. J. Neurolog. Sci. 1996, 144, 1), and infections from Borrelia burgdorferi (Brandt et al. Infect. Immunol. 1990, 58, 983), Treponema pallidum (Chamberlin et al. Infect. Immunol. 1989, 57, 2872), cytomegalovirus (CMV; Geist et al. Am. J. Respir. Cell Mol. Biol. 1997, 16, 31), influenza virus (Beutler et al. Clin. Res. 1986, 34, 491a), Sendai virus (Goldfield et al. Proc. Nat\'l. Acad. Sci. USA 1989, 87, 1490), Theiler\'s encephalomyelitis virus (Sierra et al. Immunology 1993, 78, 399), and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV; Poli. Proc. Nat\'l. Acad. Sci. USA 1990, 87, 782; Vyakaram et al. AIDS 1990, 4, 21; Badley et al. J. Exp. Med. 1997, 185, 55).

Because inhibition of p38 leads to inhibition of TNFα production, p38 inhibitors will be useful in treatment of the above listed diseases.

A number of diseases are thought to be mediated by excess or undesired matrix-destroying metalloprotease (MMP) activity or by an imbalance in the ratio of the MMPs to the tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMIPs). These include osteoarthritis (Woessner et al. J. Biol. Chem. 1984, 259, 3633), rheumatoid arthritis (Mullins et al. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1983, 695, 117; Woolley et al. Arthritis Rheum. 1977, 20, 1231; Gravallese et al. Arthritis Rheum. 1991, 34, 1076), septic arthritis (Williams et al. Arthritis Rheum. 1990, 33, 533), tumor metastasis (Reich et al. Cancer Res. 1988, 48, 3307; Matrisian et al. Proc. Nat\'l. Acad. Sci., USA 1986, 83, 9413), periodontal diseases (Overall et al. J. Periodontal Res. 1987, 22, 81), corneal ulceration (Burns et al. Invest. Opthalmol. Vis. Sci. 1989, 30, 1569), proteinuria (Baricos et al. Biochem. J. 1988, 254, 609), coronary thrombosis from atherosclerotic plaque rupture (Henney et al. Proc. Nat\'l. Acad. Sci., USA 1991, 88, 8154), aneurysmal aortic disease (Vine et al. Clin. Sci. 1991, 81, 233), birth control (Woessner et al. Steroids 1989, 54, 491), dystrophobic epidermolysis bullosa (Kronberger et al. J. Invest. Dermatol. 1982, 79, 208), degenerative cartilage loss following traumatic joint injury, osteopenias mediated by MMP activity, tempero mandibular joint disease, and demyelating diseases of the nervous system (Chantry et al. J. Neurochem. 1988, 50, 688).

Because inhibition of p38 leads to inhibition of MAP production, p38 inhibitors will be useful in treatment of the above listed diseases.

Inhibitors of p38 are active in animal models of TNFα production, including a muirne lipopolysaccharide (LPS) model of TNFα production. Inhibitors of p38 are active in a number of standard animal models of inflammatory diseases, including carrageenan-induced edema in the rat paw, arachadonic acid-induced edema in the rat paw, arachadonic acid-induced peritonitis in the mouse, fetal rat long bone resorption, murine type II collagen-induced arthritis, and Fruend\'s adjuvant-induced arthritis in the rat. Thus, inhibitors of p38 will be useful in treating diseases mediated by one or more of the above-mentioned cytokines and/or proteolytic enzymes.

The need for new therapies is especially important in the case of arthritic diseases. The primary disabling effect of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and septic arthritis is the progressive loss of articular cartilage and thereby normal joint function. No marketed pharmaceutical agent is able to prevent or slow this cartilage loss, although nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have been given to control pain and swelling. The end result of these diseases is total loss of joint function which is only treatable by joint replacement surgery. P38 inhibitors will halt or reverse the progression of cartilage loss and obviate or delay surgical intervention.

Several patents have appeared claiming polyarylimidazoles and/or compounds containing polyarylimidazoles as inhibitors of p38 (for example, Lee et al. WO 95/07922; Adams et al. WO 95/02591; Adams et al. WO 95/13067; Adams et al. WO 95/31451). It has been reported that arylimidazoles complex to the ferric form of cytochrome P450cam. (Harris et al. Mol. Eng. 1995, 5, 143, and references therein), causing concern that these compounds may display structure-related toxicity (Howard-Martin et al. Toxicol. Pathol. 1987, 15, 369). Therefore, there remains a need for improved p38 inhibitors.

SUMMARY

This invention provides compounds, generally described as aryl ureas, including both aryl and heteroaryl analogues, which inhibit p38 mediated events and thus inhibit the production of cytokines (such as TNFα, IL-1 and IL-8) and proteolytic enzymes (such as MMP-1 and MMP-3). The invention also provides a method of treating a cytokine mediated disease state in humans or mammals, wherein the cytokine is one whose production is affected by p38. Examples of such cytokines include, but are not limited to TNFα, IL-1 and IL-8. The invention also provides a method of treating a protease mediated disease state in humans or mammals, wherein the protease is one whose production is affected by p38. Examples of such proteases include, but are not limited to collagenase (MMP-1) and stromelysin (MMP-3).

Accordingly, these compounds are useful therapeutic agents for such acute and chronic inflammatory and/or immunomodulatory diseases as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, septic arthritis, rheumatic fever, bone resorption, postmenopausal osteoperosis, sepsis, gram negative sepsis, septic shock, endotoxic shock, toxic shock syndrome, systemic inflammatory response syndrome, inflammatory bowel diseases including Crohn\'s disease and ulcerative colitis, Jarisch-Herxheimer reactions, asthma, adult respiratory distress syndrome, acute pulmonary fibrotic diseases, pulmonary sarcoidosis, allergic respiratory diseases, silicosis, coal worker\'s pneumoconiosis, alveolar injury, hepatic failure, liver disease during acute inflammation, severe alcoholic hepatitis, malaria including Plasmodium falciparum malaria and cerebral malaria, non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), congestive heart failure, damage following heart disease, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer\'s disease, acute encephalitis, brain injury, multiple sclerosis including demyelation and oligiodendrocyte loss in multiple sclerosis, advanced cancer, lymphoid malignancies, tumor metastasis, pancreatitis, including systemic complications in acute pancreatitis, impaired wound healing in infection, inflammation and cancer, periodontal diseases, corneal ulceration, proteinuria, myelodysplastic syndromes, systemic lupus erythematosus, biliary cirrhosis, bowel necrosis, psoriasis, radiation injury, toxicity following administration of monoclonal antibodies such as OKT3, host-versus-graft reactions including ischemia reperfusion injury and allograft rejections including kidney, liver, heart, and skin allograft rejections, lung allograft rejection including chronic lung allograft rejection (obliterative bronchitis) as well as complications due to total hip replacement, and infectious diseases including tuberculosis, Helicobacter pylori infection during peptic ulcer disease, Chaga\'s disease resulting from Trypanosoma cruzi infection, effects of Shiga-like toxin resulting from E. coli infection, effects of enterotoxin A resulting from Staphylococcus infection, meningococcal infection, and infections from Borrelia burgdorferi, Treponema pallidum, cytomegalovirus, influenza virus, Theiler\'s encephalomyelitis virus, and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

The present invention, therefore, provides compounds generally described as aryl ureas, including both aryl and heteroaryl analogues, which inhibit the p38 pathway. The invention also provides a method for treatment of p38-mediated disease states in humans or mammals, e.g., disease states mediated by one or more cytokines or proteolytic enzymes produced and/or activated by a p38 mediated process. Thus, the invention is directed to compounds and methods for the treatment of diseases mediated by p38 kinase comprising administering a compound of Formula I

wherein A is

B is a substituted or unsubstituted, up to tricyclic aryl or heteroaryl moiety of up to 30 carbon atoms with at least one 6-member aromatic structure containing 0-4 members of the group consisting of nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur, wherein if B is substituted, it is substituted by one or more substituents selected from the group consisting of halogen, up to per-halo, and Wn, wherein n is 0-3 and each W is independently selected from the group consisting of —CN, —CO2R7, —C(O)NR7R7, —C(O)—R7, —NO2, —OR7, —SR7, —NR7R7, —NR7C(O)OR7, —NR7C(O)R7, C1-C10 alkyl, C2-10-alkenyl, C1-10-alkoxy, C3-C10 cycloalkyl, C6-C14 aryl, C7-C24 alkaryl, C3-C13 heteroaryl, C4-C23 alkheteroaryl, substituted C1-C10 alkyl, substituted C2-10-alkenyl, substituted C1-10-alkoxy, substituted C3-C10 cycloalkyl, substituted C4-C23 alkheteroaryl and Q-Ar; wherein if W is a substituted group, it is substituted by one or more substituents independently selected from the group consisting of —CN, —CO2R7, —C(O)R7, —C(O)NR7R7, —OR7, —SR7, —NR7R7, NO2, —NR7C(O)R7, —NR7C(O)R7 and halogen up to per-halo; wherein each R7 is independently selected from H, C1-C10 alkyl, C2-10-alkenyl, C3-C10 cycloalkyl, C6-C14 aryl, C3-C13 hetaryl, C7-C24 alkaryl, C4-C23 alkheteroaryl, up to per-halosubstituted C1-C10 alkyl, up to per-halosubstituted C2-40-alkenyl, up to per-halosubstituted C3-C10 cycloalkyl, up to per-halosubstituted C6-C14 aryl and up to per-halosubstituted C3-C13 hetaryl, wherein Q is —O—, —S—, —(CH2)—, —C(O)—, —CH(OH)—, —(CH2)O—, —NR7C(O)NR7R7′—, —NR7C(O)—, —C(O)NR7—, —(CH2)mS—, —(CH2)mN(R7)—, —O(CH2)m, —CHXa, —CHXa2—S—(CH2)m— and —N(R7)(CH2)m—, m=1-3, and Xa is halogen; and

Ar is a 5-10 member aromatic structure containing 0-2 members of the group consisting of nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur, which is unsubstituted or substituted by halogen up to per-halo and optionally substituted by Zn1, wherein n1 is 0 to 3 and each Z is independently selected from the group consisting of —CN, —CO2R7, —C(O)NR7R7, —C(O)—NR7, —C(O)R7, —NO2, —OR7, —SR7, —NR7R7, —NR7C(O)OR7, —NR7C(O)R7, C1-C10 alkyl, C3-C10 cycloalkyl, C6-C14 aryl, C3-C13 hetaryl, C7-C24 alkaryl, C4-C23 alkheteroaryl, substituted C1-C10 alkyl, substituted C3-C10 cycloalkyl, substituted C7-C24 alkaryl and substituted C4-C23 alkheteroaryl; wherein the one or more substituents of Z is selected from the group consisting of —CN, —CO2R7, —C(O)NR7R7, —SR7, —NO2, —NR7R7, —NR7C(O)R7, —NR7C(O)OR7, R3′, R4′, R5′ are each independently H, C1-10-alkyl, optionally substituted by halogen, up to perhalo, C1-1a alkoxy, optionally substituted by halogen, up to perhaloalkoxy, halogen; NO2 or NH2; R6′ is H, C1-10-alkyl, C1-10 alkoxy, —NHCOR1; —NR1COR1; NO2;

one of R4′, R5′ or R6′ can be —X—Y, or 2 adjacent R4′-R6′ can together be an aryl or hetaryl ring with 5-12 atoms, optionally substituted by C1-10-alkyl, C1-10 alkoxy, C3-10 cycloalkyl, C2-10 alkenyl, C1-10 alkanoyl, C6-12 aryl, C5-12 hetaryl or C6-12 aralkyl; R1 is C1-10-alkyl optionally substituted by halogen, up to perhalo; X is —CH2—, —S—, —N(CH3)—, —NHC(O)—, —CH2—S—, —S—CH2—, —C(O)—, or —O—; and X is additionally a single bond where Y is pyridyl; Y is phenyl, pyridyl, naphthyl, pyridone, pyrazine, benzodioxane, benzopyridine, pyrimidine or benzothiazole, each optionally substituted by C1-10-alkyl, C1-10-alkoxy, halogen, OH, —SCH3 or NO2 or, where Y is phenyl, by

or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

Preferably, the compounds of formula I are of formula Ia

wherein

R3, R4, R5 and R6 are each independently H, halogen, C1-10-alkyl optionally substituted by halogen, up to perhalo, C1-10-alkoxy, optionally substituted by at least one hydroxy group or by halogen, up to perhalo; C5-12 aryl, optionally substituted by C1-10 alkoxy or halogen, C5-12 hetaryl, optionally substituted by C1-10 alkyl, C1-10 alkoxy or halogen; NO2, SO2F or —SO2CHpX3-p; —COOR1; —OR1CONHR1; —NHCOR1; —SR7; phenyl optionally substituted by halo or C1-10-alkoxy; NH2; —N(SO2R1)2, furyloxy,

2 adjacent R3-R6 can together form an aryl or hetaryl ring with 5-12 atoms, optionally substituted by C1-10-alkyl, C1-10-alkoxy, C3-10-cycloalkyl, C2-10-alkenyl, C1-10-alkanoyl, C6-42-aryl, C5-12-hetaryl, C6-12-aralkyl, C6-42-alkaryl, halogen; —NR1; —NO2; —CF3; —COOR1; —NHCOR1; —CN; —CONR1R1; —SO2R2; —SOR2; —SR2; in which R1 is H or C1-10-alkyl and R2 is C1-10-alkyl; optionally substituted by halogen, up to perhalo, with —SO2-optionally incorporated in the aryl or hetaryl ring; one of R4, R5 or R6 can be —X—Y, R1 is C1-10-alkyl, optionally substituted by halogen, up to perhalo; p is 0 or 1; X is —CH2, —S—, N(CH3)—, —NHC(O), —C(O)—, or —O—; and Y is phenyl, pyridyl, naphthyl, pyridone, pyrazine, benzodixane, benzopyridine, pyrimidine or benzothiazole, each optionally substituted by C1-10-alkyl, C1-10-alkoxy, halogen or NO2 or, where Y is phenyl, by

with the proviso that if R3 and R6 are both H, one of R4 or R5 is not H.

In formula I, suitable hetaryl groups B include, but are not limited to, 5-12 carbon-atom aromatic rings or ring systems containing 1-3 rings, at least one of which is aromatic, in which one or more, e.g., 1-4 carbon atoms in one or more of the rings can be replaced by oxygen, nitrogen or sulfur atoms. Each ring typically has 3-7 atoms. For example, B can be 2- or 3-furyl, 2- or 3-thienyl, 2- or 4-triazinyl, 1-, 2- or 3-pyrrolyl, 1-, 2-, 4- or 5-imidazolyl, 1-, 3-, 4- or 5-pyrazolyl, 2-, 4- or 5-oxazolyl, 3-, 4- or 5-isoxazolyl, 2-, 4- or 5-thiazolyl, 3-, 4- or 5-isothiazolyl, 2-, 3- or 4-pyridyl, 2-, 4-, 5- or 6-pyrimidinyl, 1,2,3-triazol-1-, -4- or -5-yl, 1,2,4-triazol-1-, -3- or -5-yl, 1- or 5-tetrazolyl, 1,2,3-oxadiazol-4- or -5-yl, 1,2,4-oxadiazol-3- or -5-yl, 1,3,4-thiadiazol-2- or -5-yl, 1,2,4-oxadiazol-3- or -5-yl, 1,3,4-thiadiazol-2- or -5-yl, 1,3,4-thiadiazol-3- or -5-yl, 1,2,3-thiadiazol-4- or -5-yl, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5- or 6-2H-thiopyranyl, 2-, 3- or 4-4H-thiopyranyl, 3- or 4-pyridazinyl, pyrazinyl, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, 6- or 7-benzofuryl, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, 6- or 7-benzothienyl, 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, 6- or 7-indolyl, 1-, 2-, 4- or 5-benzimidazolyl, 1-, 3-, 4-, 5-, 6- or 7-benzopyrazolyl, 2-, 4-, 5-, 6- or 7-benzoxazolyl, 3-, 4-, 5-6- or 7-benzisoxazolyl, 1-, 3-, 4-, 5-, 6- or 7-benzothiazolyl, 2-, 4-, 5-, 6- or 7-benzisothiazolyl, 2-, 4-, 5-, 6- or 7-benz-1,3-oxadiazolyl, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, 6-, 7- or 8-quinolinyl, 1-, 3-, 4-, 5-, 6-, 7-, 8-isoquinolinyl, 1-, 2-, 3-, 4- or 9-carbazolyl, 1-, 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, 6-, 7-, 8- or 9-acridinyl, or 2-, 4-, 5-, 6-, T- or 8-quinazolinyl, or additionally optionally substituted phenyl, 2- or 3-thienyl, 1,3,4-thiadiazolyl, 3-pyrryl, 3-pyrazolyl, 2-thiazolyl or 5-thiazolyl, etc. For example, B can be 4-methyl-phenyl, 5-methyl-2-thienyl, 4-methyl-2-thienyl, 1-methyl-3-pyrryl, 1-methyl-3-pyrazolyl, 5-methyl-2-thiazolyl or 5-methyl-1,2,4-thiadiazol-2-yl.

Suitable alkyl groups and alkyl portions of groups, e.g., alkoxy, etc. throughout include methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, etc., including all straight-chain and branched isomers such as isopropyl, isobutyl, sec-butyl, tert-butyl, etc.

Suitable aryl groups include, for example, phenyl and 1- and 2-naphthyl.

The term “cycloalkyl”, as used herein, refers to cyclic structures with or without alkyl substitutents such that, for example, “C4 cycloakyl” includes methyl substituted cyclopropyl groups as well as cyclobutyl groups. The term “cycloalkyl” also includes saturated heterocyclic groups.

Suitable halogen groups include F, Cl, Br, and/or I, from one to per-substitution (i.e. all H atoms on a group replaced by a halogen atom) being possible where an alkyl group is substituted by halogen, mixed substitution of halogen atom types also being possible on a given moiety.

Preferred compounds of formula I include those where R3 is H, halogen or C1-10-alkyl, optionally substituted by halogen, up to perhalo, NO2, —SO2F, —SO2CHF2; or —SO2CF3; R4 is H, C1-10-alkyl, C1-10-alkoxy, halogen or NO2; R5 is H, C1-10-alkyl optionally substituted by halogen, up to perhalo; R6 is H, hydroxy, C1-40-alkoxy, optionally substituted by at least one hydroxy group; —COOR1; —OR1CONHR1; —NHCOR1; —SR1; phenyl optionally substituted by halo or C1-10-alkoxy; NH2; —N(SO2R1)2, furyloxy,

Preferably, R3 is Cl, F, C4-5-branched alkyl, —SO2F or —SO2CF3; and R6 is hydroxy; C1-10-alkoxy optionally substituted by at least one hydroxy group; —COOR1; —OR1CONBR1; —NHCOR1; —SR1; phenyl optionally substituted by halo or C1-10-alkoxy; NH2; —N(SO2R1)2, furyloxy,

More preferably, R6 is t-butyl or CF3 and R6 is —OCH3. Preferably, R4′ is C1-10-alkyl or halogen; R5′ is H, C1-10-alkyl, halogen, CF3, halogen, NO2 or NH2; and leis H, C1-10-alkyl, halogen, —NHCOCH3, —N(CH3)COCH3, NO2,

The invention also relates to compounds per se, of formula II

wherein

R3, R4, R5 and R6 are each independently H, halogen, C1-10-alkyl optionally substituted by halogen up to perhalo, C1-10-alkoxy, optionally substituted by at least one hydroxy group or halogen, up to perhalo; NO2, SO2F or —SO2CHnX3-n, C1-10-alkoxy; —COOR1; —OR1CONHR1; —NHCOR1; —SR1; C6-12 aryl, optionally substituted by C1-10-alkyl, C1-10 alkoxy or halogen, C5-12 hetaryl, optionally substituted by C1-10 alkyl, C1-10 alkoxy or halogen; NH2; —N(SO2R1)2; furyloxy;

2 adjacent R3-R6 can together form an aryl or hetaryl ring with 5-12 atoms, optionally substituted by C1-10-alkyl, C3-10-cycloalkyl, C2-10-alkenyl, C1-10-alkanoyl, C6-12-aryl, C5-12-hetaryl, C6-12-aralkyl, C6-12-alkaryl, halogen; —NR1; —NO2; —CF3; —COOR1; —NHCOR1; —CN; —CONR1R1; —SO2R2; —SOR2; —SR2; in which R1 is H or C1-10-alkyl and R2 is C1-10-alkyl; R3′ R4′ and R5′ are each independently H, C1-10-alkyl, optionally substituted by halogen, up to perhalo; NO2 or NH2; R6′ is H, C1-10-alkyl, halogen, —NHCOR1; —NR1COR1; NO2;

2 adjacent R4′-R6′ can together be an aryl or hetaryl ring with 5-12 atoms;

R1 is C1-10-alkyl, optionally substituted by halogen, up to perhalo;

n is 0 or 1;

with the provisos that (a) if R3 and R6 are both H, one of R4 or R5 is not H, and (b) that R6 is phenyl substituted by alkoxy or halogen, alkoxy substituted by hydroxy, —SO2CF2H, —OR1CONBR1,

furyloxy or —N(SO2R1)2;

and (c) if R6 is phenyl substituted by alkoxy or halogen, the compounds have a pKa greater than 10, e.g., greater than 12, preferably greater than 15. Preferred 5-tert-butylphenyl ureas are: N-(5-tert-Butyl-2-methoxyphenyl)-N′-(4-phenyloxyphenyl)urea; N-(5-tert-Butyl-2-methoxyphenyl)-N′-(4-(4-methoxyphenyloxy)phenyl)urea; N-(5-tert-Butyl-2-methoxyphenyl)-N′-(4-(4-pyridinyloxy)phenyl)urea; N-(5-tert-Butyl-2-methoxyphenyl)-N′-(4-(4-pyridinylmethyl)phenyl)urea; N-(5-tert-Butyl-2-methoxyphenyl)-N-(4-(4-pyridinylthio)phenyl)urea; N-(5-tert-Butyl-2-methoxyphenyl)-N′-(4-(4-(4,7-methano-1H-isoindole-1,3(2H)-dionyl)methyl)phenyl)urea; N-(5-tert-Butyl-2-phenylphenyl)-N′-(2,3-dichlorophenyl)urea; N-(5-tert-Butyl-2-(3-thienyl)phenyl)-N′-(2,3-dichlorophenyl)urea; N-(5-tert-Butyl-2-(N-methylaminocarbonyl)methoxyphenyl)-N′-(2,3-dichlorophenyl)urea; N-(5-tert-Butyl-2-(N-methylaminocarbonyl)methoxyphenyl)-N-(1-naphthyl)urea; N-(5-tert-Butyl-2-(N-morpholinocarbonyl)methoxyphenyl)-N′-(2,3-dichlorophenyl)urea; N-(5-tert-Butyl-2-(N-morpholinocarbonyl)methoxyphenyl)-N′-(1-naphthyl)urea; N-(5-tert-Butyl-2-(3-tetrahydrofuranyloxy)phenyl)-N-(2,3-dichlorophenyl)urea; and N-(5-tert-Butyl-2-methoxyphenyl)-N′-(4-(3-pyridinyl)methylphenyl)urea. Preferred 5-trifluoromethylphenyl ureas are: N-(5-Trifluoromethyl-2-methoxyphenyl)-N′-(4-methylphenyl)urea; N-(5-Trifluoromethyl-2-methoxyphenyl)-N′-(4-methyl-2-fluorophenyl)urea; N-(5-Trifluoromethyl-2-methoxyphenyl)-N′-(4-fluoro-3-chlorophenyl)urea; N-(5-Trifluoromethyl-2-methoxyphenyl)-N′-(4-methyl-3-chlorophenyl)urea; N-(5-Trifluoromethyl-2-methoxyphenyl)-N′-(4-methyl-3-fluorophenyl)urea; N-(5-Trifluoromethyl-2-methoxyphenyl)-N′-(2,4-difluorophenyl)urea; N-(5-Trifluoromethyl-2-methoxyphenyl)-N′-(4-phenyloxy-3,5-dichlorophenyl)urea; N-(5-Trifluoromethyl-2-methoxyphenyl)-N′-(4-(4-pyridinylmethyl)phenyl)urea; N-(5-Trifluoromethyl-2-methoxyphenyl)-N′-(4-(4-pyridinylthio)phenyl)urea; N-(5-Trifluoromethyl-2-methoxyphenyl)-N′-(4-(4-pyridinyloxy)phenyl)urea; N-(5-Trifluoromethyl-2-methoxyphenyl)-N-(3-(4-pyridinylthio)phenyl)urea; and N-(5-Trifluoromethyl-2-methoxyphenyl)-N′-(4-(3-(N-methylaminocarbonyl)-phenyloxy)phenyl)-urea. Preferred 5-sulfonylphenyl ureas are: N-(5-Fluorosulfonyl)-2-methoxyphenyl)-N′-(4-methylphenyl)urea; N-(5-(Difluoromethanesulfonyl)-2-methoxyphenyl)-N′-(4-methylphenyl)ureaN-(5-(Difluorornethanesulfonyl)-2-methoxyphenyl)-N′-(4-fluorophenyl)urea; N-(5-(Difluoromethanesulfonyl)-2-methoxyphenyl)-N′-(4-methyl-2-fluorophenyl)urea; N-(5-(Difluoromethanesulfonyl)-2-methoxyphenyl)-N′-(4-methyl-3-fluorophenyl)urea; N-(5-(Difluoromethanesulfonyl)-2-methoxyphenyl)-N′-(4-methyl-3-chlorophenyl)urea; N-(5-(Difluoromethanesulfonyl)-2-methoxyphenyl)-N′-(4-fluoro-3-chlorophenyl)urea; N-(5-(Difluoromethanesulfonyl)-2-methoxyphenyl)-N′-(4-fluoro-3-methylphenyl)urea; N-(5-(Difluoromethanesulfonyl)-2-methoxyphenyl)-N′-(2,3-dimethylphenyl)urea; and N-(5-(Trifluoromethanesulfonyl)-2-methoxyphenyl)-N′-(4-methylphenyl)urea. Preferred 2-naphthyl ureas are: N-(3-Methoxy-2-naphthyl)-N′-(2-fluorophenyl)urea; N-(3-Methoxy-2-naphthyl)-N′-(4-methylphenyl)urea; N-(3-Methoxy-2-naphthyl)-N′-(3-fluorophenyl)urea; N-(3-Methoxy-2-naphthyl)-N′-(4-methyl-3-fluorophenyl)urea; N-(3-Methoxy-2-naphthyl)-N′-(2,3-dimethylphenyl)urea; N-(3-Methoxy-2-naphthyl)-N′-(1-naphthyl)urea; N-(3-Methoxy-2-naphthyl)-N′-(4-(4-pyridinylmethyl)phenyl)urea; N-(3-Methoxy-2-naphthyl)-N′-(4-(4-pyridinylthio)phenyl)urea; N-(3-Methoxy-2-naphthyl)-N′-(4-(4-methoxyphenyloxy)phenyl)urea; and N-(3-Methoxy-2-naphthyl)-N′-(4-(4-(4,7-methano-1H-isoindole-1,3(2H)-dionyl)methyl)phenyl)urea.

Other preferred ureas are: N-(2-Hydroxy-4-nitro-5-chlorophenyl)-N′-(phenyl)urea; and N-(2-Hydroxy-4-nitro-5-chlorophenyl)-N′-(4-(4-pyridinylmethyl)phenyl)urea.

The present invention is also directed to pharmaceutically acceptable salts of formula I. Suitable pharmaceutically acceptable salts are well known to those skilled in the art and include basic salts of inorganic and organic acids, such as hydrochloric acid, hydrobromic acid, sulphuric acid, phosphoric acid, methanesulphonic acid, sulphonic acid, acetic acid, trifluoroacetic acid, malic acid, tartaric acid, citric acid, lactic acid, oxalic acid, succinic acid, fumaric acid, maleic acid, benzoic acid, salicylic acid, phenylacetic acid, and mandelic acid. In addition, pharmaceutically acceptable salts include acid salts of inorganic bases, such as salts containing alkaline cations (e.g., Li+ Na+ or K+), alkaline earth cations (e.g., Mg+2, Ca+2 or Ba+2), the ammonium cation, as well as acid salts of organic bases, including aliphatic and aromatic substituted ammonium, and quaternary ammonium cations, such as those arising from protonation or peralkylation of triethylamine, N,N-diethylamine, N,N-dicyclohexylamine, pyridine, N,N-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP), 1,4-diazabiclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO), 1,5-diazabicyclo[4.3.0]non-5-ene (DBN) and 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU).

A number of the compounds of Formula I possess asymmetric carbons and can therefore exist in racemic and optically active forms. Methods of separation of enantiomeric and diastereomeric mixtures are well known to one skilled in the art. The present invention encompasses any isolated racemic or optically active form of compounds described in Formula I which possess p38 kinase inhibitory activity.

The compounds of Formula I may be prepared by use of known chemical reactions and procedures, some from starting materials which are commercially available. Nevertheless, the following general preparative methods are presented to aid one of skill in the art in synthesizing these compounds, with more detailed particular examples being presented in the experimental section describing the working examples.

Nitroaryls are commonly fowled by electrophilic aromatic nitration using HNO3, or an alternative NO2+ source. Nitroaryls may be further elaborated prior to reduction. Thus, nitroaryls substituted with

potential leaving groups (e.g. F, Cl, Br, etc.) may undergo substitution reactions on treatment with nucleophiles, such as thiolate (exemplified in Scheme II) or phenoxide. Nitroaryls may also undergo Ullman-type coupling reactions (Scheme II).

Nitroaryls may also undergo transition metal mediated cross coupling reactions. For example, nitroaryl electrophiles, such as nitroaryl bromides, iodides or triflates, undergo palladium mediated cross coupling reactions with aryl nucleophiles, such as arylboronic acids (Suzuki reactions, exemplified below), aryltins (Stille reactions) or arylzincs (Negishi reaction) to afford the biaryl (5).

Either nitroaryls or anilines may be converted into the corresponding arenesulfonyl chloride (7) on treatment with chlorosulfonic acid. Reaction of the sulfonyl chloride with a fluoride source, such as KF then affords sulfonyl fluoride (8). Reaction of sulfonyl fluoride 8 with trimethylsilyl trifluoromethane in the presence of a fluoride source, such as tris(dimethylamino)sulfonium difluorotrimethylsiliconate (TASF) leads to the corresponding trifluoromethylsulfone (9). Alternatively, sulfonyl chloride 7 may be reduced to the arenethiol (10), for example with zinc amalgum. Reaction of thiol 10 with CHClF2 in the presence of base gives the difluoromethyl mercaptam (11), which may be oxidized to the sulfone (12) with any of a variety of oxidants, including CrO3-acetic anhydride (Sedova et al. Zh. Org. Khim. 1970, 6, 568).