Abstract
An effective strategy to restore p53 activity in cancer cells containing wild type p53 is to inhibit the Mdm2-p53 protein-protein interaction (PPI). NVP-HDM201 is a novel PPI inhibitor currently under evaluation in a Phase I clinical trial. It binds to the p53 binding-site of the Mdm2 protein, disrupting the interaction of the two proteins and leading to the activation of the p53 pathway.
NVP-HDM201 belongs to a novel chemical series with a distinct biophysical and biochemical profile. Affinity constant of NVP-HDM201 for Mdm2 is in the picomolar range, with a selectivity ratio greater than a 10000-fold vs. Mdm4. Analysis of its binding mode provides evidence for a distinct set of critical interactions between the small molecule and its target, as compared with our other Mdm2 inhibitor NVP-CGM097, and explains as to why NVP-HDM201 binds equally to human, mouse, rat and dog Mdm2. Characterization of its binding kinetics indicates that the optimized interactions of NVP-HDM201 with Mdm2 protein are responsible for the increased stabilization of the complex resulting in high potency against Mdm2. This feature, together with favorable physicochemical and drug-like properties, supported the selection of NVP-HDM201 for clinical development.
Citation Format: Thérèse Stachyra-Valat, Frédéric Baysang, Anne-Cécile D’Alessandro, Erdmann Dirk, Pascal Furet, Vito Guagnano, Joerg Kallen, Lukas Leder, Robert Mah, Keiichi Masuya, Stefan Stutz, Andrea Vaupel, Francesco Hofmann, Patrick Chène, Sébastien Jeay, Philipp Holzer. NVP-HDM201: Biochemical and biophysical profile of a novel highly potent and selective PPI inhibitor of p53-Mdm2. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 1239.