Introduction of a Methyl Group Curbs Metabolism of Pyrido[3,4‑<i>d</i>]pyrimidine Monopolar Spindle 1 (MPS1) Inhibitors and Enables the Discovery of the Phase 1 Clinical Candidate <i>N</i>²‑(2-Ethoxy-4-(4-methyl‑4<i>H</i>‑1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)phenyl)-6-methyl‑<i>N</i>⁸‑neopentylpyrido[3,4‑<i>d</i>]pyrimidine-2,8-diamine (BOS172722)

Monopolar spindle 1 (MPS1) occupies a central role in mitosis and is one of the main components of the spindle assembly checkpoint. The MPS1 kinase is an attractive cancer target, and herein, we report the discovery of the clinical candidate BOS172722. The starting point for our work was a series of pyrido­[3,4-d]­pyrimidine inhibitors that demonstrated excellent potency and kinase selectivity but suffered from rapid turnover in human liver microsomes (HLM). Optimizing HLM stability proved challenging since it was not possible to identify a consistent site of metabolism and lowering lipophilicity proved unsuccessful. Key to overcoming this problem was the finding that introduction of a methyl group at the 6-position of the pyrido­[3,4-d]­pyrimidine core significantly improved HLM stability. Met ID studies suggested that the methyl group suppressed metabolism at the distant aniline portion of the molecule, likely by blocking the preferred pharmacophore through which P450 recognized the compound. This work ultimately led to the discovery of BOS172722 as a Phase 1 clinical candidate.