Synthesis of potent bicyclic bisarylimidazole c-jun N-terminal kinase inhibitors by catalytic C-H bond activation

A new and efficient synthetic route was developed for the generation of the potent kinase inhibitor where intramolecular alkylation via rhodium-catalyzed C-H bond activation was the most important step. This approach allowed introduction of substituents at the C7 and C8 positions and evaluation of the compounds synthesized by this route made possible the identification of a JNK3 inhibitor.