Discovery of biaryl carboxylamides as potent RORγ inverse agonists

RORγt is a pivotal regulator of a pro-inflammatory gene expression program implicated in the pathology of several major human immune-mediated diseases. Evidence from mouse models demonstrates that genetic or pharmacological inhibition of RORγ activity can block the production of pathogenic cytokines, including IL-17, and convey therapeutic benefit. We have identified and developed a biaryl-carboxylamide series of RORγ inverse agonists via a structure based design approach. Co-crystal structures of compounds 16 and 48 supported the design approach and confirmed the key interactions with RORγ protein; the hydrogen bonding with His479 was key to the significant improvement in inverse agonist effect. The results have shown this is a class of potent and selective RORγ inverse agonists, with demonstrated oral bioavailability in rodents.