Structure-Based Discovery of Pyrazolobenzothiazine Derivatives As Inhibitors of Hepatitis C Virus Replication

• The NS5B RNA-dependent RNA polymerase is an attractive target for the development of novel and selective inhibitors of hepatitis C virus replication. To identify novel structural hits as anti-HCV agents, we performed structure based virtual screening of our in-house library followed by rational drug design, organic synthesis, and biological testing. These studies led to the identification of pyrazolobenzothiazine scaffold as a suitable template for obtaining novel anti-HCV agents targeting the NS5B polymerase. The best compound of this series was the meta-fluoro-N-1-phenyl pyrazolobenzothiazine derivative 4a, which exhibited an EC50 = 3.6 mu M, EC90 = 25.6 mu M, and CC50 > 180 mu M in the Huh 9-13 replicon system, thus providing a good starting point for further hit evolution.

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