A CNS-Targeting Prodrug Strategy for Nuclear Receptor Modulators

The blood–brain barrier is a major impediment for targeted central nervous system (CNS) therapeutics, especially with carboxylic acid-containing drugs. Nuclear receptor modulators, which often feature carboxylic acid motifs for target engagement, have emerged as a class of potentially powerful therapeutics for neurodegenerative CNS diseases. Herein is described a prodrug strategy that directs the biodistribution of parent drug nuclear receptor modulators into the CNS while masking them as functional receptor ligands in the periphery. This prodrug strategy targets a specific amidase, fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH), an enzyme with enriched expression in the CNS. Our results demonstrate that this prodrug strategy can be generalized to a variety of carboxylic acid-containing drug structures that satisfy the structural requirements of blood–brain barrier diffusion and FAAH substrate recognition.