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Small Molecule Highlights #11 – April 2023

In this issue, we bring you 7 recently reported small molecules out of the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry focused on several unique drug targets (beyond strategies focused on well-known kinases, standard enzymes, GPCRs, etc.). This list of targets includes metabolic enzyme MAT2A, heat-shock transcription factor HSF1, chemokine receptor CCR8, mitochondrial RNA polymerase POLRMT, the NLRP3 inflammasome, non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase NNRT, and inhibitor of apoptosis proteins IAP.

Small Molecule Highlights #11 – April 2023
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Compound 28

Compound 28
Compound 28

Compound 28: This benzoimidazopyrazine small molecule was recently reported as a methionine adenosyltransferase 2A (MAT2A) inhibitor. MAT2A is a metabolic enzyme, essential for cell-growth, survival, and the production of co-substrate S-Adenosyl methionine (SAM). Inhibitor design is based on a scaffold-hopping strategy from previously known tricyclic allosteric MAT2A inhibitors (Simcere-024). In vitro MAT2A enzymatic inhibition IC50 values of 26 nM were reported, with an IC50 in HCT-116 of 75 nM (MTAP -/-). In vivo efficacy was also established (at 50 mg/kg, i.g., QD), resulting in a TGI value of 52%, which represents an improvement relative to the clinical standard AG-270.

Reference: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c02006

CCT361814

CCT361814
CCT361814

CCT361814: Fluoro bis-amide CCT361814 has been identified as an inhibitor of Heat shock transcription factor 1 (HSF1), a TF implicated in heat-shock stress response, and oncogenesis (specifically within the context of ovarian cancers). Inhibitor design involved a phenotypic screen from Hit-to-Lead, towards a clinical candidate. In SK-OV-3, a GI50 of 8.5 nM was reported, translating into a pGI50 of 8.07. In CH1-doxR/WT, a value of 1.8 was reported, with a KS of 50 µM. In vivo pharmacokinetic analysis in mouse models (5 mg/kg, p.o.) observed a TMax value of 2.0 hrs, a T1/2 of 4.0 hrs, and an oral bioavailability (% F) of 42%. In vivo efficacy was also reported in a SK-OV-3, ovarian cancer tumor model, at 35 mg/kg (s.c.), with a TGI value of 120%.

Reference: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c00156

IPG7236

IPG7236
IPG7236

IPG7236: This sulfonamide-based small molecule out of Immunophage Biotech was reported as an antagonist of CC chemokine receptor 8 (CCR8), which has been repeatedly implicated in oncology. CCR8 is involved in regulatory T cells (Treg) recruitment and plays critical roles within the tumor microenvironment of several human cancers. Inhibitor design involved a scaffold-hopping strategy to improve a previously known naphthalene-based lead molecule with poor bioavailability and inadequate solubility. A Tango IC50 of 24 nM was found, with a solubility of 254 µM. As for physicochemical properties, MW, CLogP, and tPSA values of 429.58 g mol-1, 2.58, and 78.5 Å2 were generated with an IC50 >30 µM against hERG. In vivo efficacy was reported in MDA-MB-231 xenografts, 50 mg/kg (i.v.), TGI of 55.6%.

Reference: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c00030

Compound D26

Compound D26
Compound D26

Compound D26: Coumarin-based small molecule D26 has been recently published as an inhibitor of mitochondrial RNA polymerase. POLRMT is an RNA polymerase involved in mitochondrial gene expression and oxidative phosphorylation. Inhibitor design involved a pharmacokinetics-focused structure-based strategy of a previously established first-in-class POLRMT inhibitor, IMT1B. When comparing the two in A2780, an IC50 value of 138 nM, and 68 nM was reported for IMT1B and D26, respectively. As for mitochondrial transcription, D26 returned an ND1 score of 15% (at 500 nM of inhibitor). D26 also observed broad cellular activity in several cell lines, including MDA-MB-468, DLD-1, HeLa, HepG2, and A549, with IC50­ values of 132, 69, 832, 152, and 721 nM. In vivo efficacy was also observed in A2780 tumor models, at 50 mg/kg, p.o. with a reduction in tumor weight of 54.82%.

Reference: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c00058

Compound 7n

Compound 7n
Compound 7n

Compound 7n: This aryl sulfonamide from the University of Ferrara in Italy has been reported as inhibitor of the NLRP3 inflammasome. NLRP3 plays critical roles in regulating innate immunity and has been implicated in various inflammasome-driven cancers (e.g. colitis-induced colorectal cancer). Inhibitor design followed a scaffold-hopping and structure-based strategy of a previously known standard NLRP3 inhibitor MCC950. In an ELISA-based assay, the IL-β inhibitory rate (%), at a dose of 1 µM was found to be 65.2%. This compound was also observed to induce the suppression of caspase-1 activation and IL-β secretion (in THP-1 cells). In vivo inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome activation was also found in C57BL/6 mice.

Reference: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c00175

Compound 8r

Compound 8r
Compound 8r

Compound 8r: This DAPY-based biphenyl molecule has been reported as a Non-Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase inhibitor. NNRTI have been commonly used for Antiretroviral therapy, by targeting several stages of the viral life cycle, with clinical utility as anti-HIV/AIDS therapies. Inhibitor design involved a carboxamide-based fragment-based strategy on a previously established NNRTI. In MT-4 cells, an EC50 (measuring HIV cytopathogenicity), of 2.3 nM was reported (WT), while in normal MT-4 cells, a CC50 > 40 µM was found. Against a series of HIV-1 mutants, L100I, K103N, Y181C, Y188L, and E138K, EC50 values of 13, 8, 29, 52, and 6 nM were observed. In vivo toxicity studies in various critical organs (brain, liver, heart, spleen, lung, and kidney) resulted in no marked pathological damage.

Reference: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c01900

Compound 9

Compound 9
Compound 9

Compound 9: This bi-functional hetero-proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC) has been developed as a pan-degrader of inhibitor of apoptosis proteins. Unique E3 ligase cross-talk, results in the potent induction of pan-IAP degradation in MM.1S cells. The degradation profile of compound 9 reveals strong degradation of cIAP1, cIAP2, XIAP, VHL30, CRBN, and IKZF3 levels. In a diaPASEF quantitative LC-MS/MS proteomics study, degradation selectivity was observed for cIAP1, and XIAP (at a dose of 100 nM, for 3 hours). In several cancer cell lines (MM, AML, DLBCL), including NCI-H929, MOLM13, SUDHL6, DB, and K562, IC50 values of 8.5, 2.1, 1.6, 460, and 420 nM were reported.

Reference: https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jmedchem.2c01817

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Alessandro Monge, PhD

Strategic Business Development Advisor

Dr. Alessandro Monge is a business strategist with over 20 years of experience at the intersection of computational science, artificial intelligence, and drug discovery. He serves as Strategic Business Development Advisor to Dalriada Drug Discovery, where he contributes to the company’s growth by supporting strategic partnerships, refining market positioning, and aligning platform innovation with emerging trends in therapeutics. In parallel, he is Managing Partner at Blue Dolphin, a consultancy focused on corporate and business development in AI-driven drug discovery, where he advises leadership teams on strategic execution, fundraising, and commercial expansion.

 

With a foundation in quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics, molecular dynamics, and protein modeling, Alessandro brings scientific depth to business leadership. In addition to Dalriada, he serves as Strategic Business Advisor to innovative companies including Pharmacelera and Nanome. He previously held senior management positions at Schrodinger, Iktos and TandemAI.

 

Alessandro earned his PhD in theoretical physics from The Rockefeller University and conducted postdoctoral research at Columbia University, where he developed algorithms for protein structure prediction. A trusted advisor and thought partner in the biotech and AI-driven discovery space, Alessandro is committed to advancing transformative science through impactful business execution.

Kanchan Devkota, PhD

Associate Director, Biochem, Biophysics & MS

Kanchan Devkota is a versatile biochemist and biophysicist with over 10 years of experience in protein sciences, assay development, and small molecule drug discovery. As Associate Director of Biochemistry, Biophysics & Protein Mass Spectrometry at Dalriada Drug Discovery, he leads integrated teams driving biochemical and biophysical assay development, hit validation, and mass spectrometry-based analytics to support a wide range of therapeutic programs.

Dr. Devkota’s core expertise includes high-throughput screening, enzymology, and quantitative biophysics—spanning technologies such as SPR, ITC, DSF, DSLS, MST and intact mass spectrometry. A certified Radiation Safety Officer at Dalriada, he also brings specialized capabilities in radioligand binding and functional assays. His work has accelerated programs targeting epigenetic modulators, oxidoreductases, and protein-protein interactions across oncology, infectious diseases, and beyond.

He earned his PhD in Biomedicine from the University of Copenhagen (Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research), where he focused on protein structure and function. He subsequently held postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Copenhagen and the Structural Genomics Consortium (University of Toronto), contributing to probe discovery for SARS-CoV-2 and cancer targets in collaboration with global pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer, Takeda, BI and Merck.

Since joining Dalriada, Dr. Devkota has played an instrumental role in shaping the company’s scientific direction and partner-driven innovation. His leadership spans not only scientific execution but also business development, client engagement, and project strategy.

An advocate for translational science and collaborative research, Dr. Devkota has published > 10 publications in high-impact journals and remains actively involved in the scientific community through presentations and cross-functional partnerships. His multidisciplinary background and solution-oriented mindset continue to help advance drug discovery initiatives from concept to hit candidates.

Kashif Aziz Khan, PhD

Associate Director, Cell Biology

Kashif Aziz Khan is a seasoned cell and molecular biologist with over 20 years of experience in research and drug discovery. As Associate Director of Cell Biology at Dalriada Drug Discovery, he leads a dynamic, high-performing team at the forefront of developing innovative cell-based assays and advancing small molecule therapeutics targeting oncology, inflammation, GPCRs, and more.

Dr. Khan’s expertise lies in designing, optimizing, and validating high-throughput and mechanistically relevant assays to accelerate lead identification, target engagement, and protein degradation workflows. His strategic leadership and scientific rigor have significantly contributed to the progress of preclinical drug discovery pipelines.

He earned his PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology from the University of Franche-Comté, France, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Montreal, where he investigated antiviral innate immune responses and contributed high-throughput screening technologies for novel therapeutic targets.

Prior to joining Dalriada, Dr. Khan led a graduate research lab at York University, managing interdisciplinary projects, securing competitive research funding, and mentoring emerging scientists. His academic and industry experience spans key areas including cell signaling, gene regulation in cancer, epigenetics, and innate immunity.

A prolific contributor to the scientific community, Dr. Khan has authored over 25 peer-reviewed publications and presented at numerous international conferences. Fluent in English and French, he is deeply committed to mentorship, scientific collaboration, and fostering innovation across the biomedical research landscape.

Peter J. Brown, PhD

Scientific Partnerships Lead

Peter Brown is a seasoned medicinal chemist and drug discovery leader with over 30 years of experience spanning large pharma, academic-industry collaborations, and global research consortia. He brings deep scientific expertise and a strong biopharma network to help advance Dalriada’s mission and extend the reach of its innovative platforms in North America. 

At Dalriada, Peter focuses on forging strategic partnerships, identifying collaborative opportunities, and supporting the scientific positioning of key platform technologies, including iCLASS.  

Prior to joining Dalriada, Peter held senior scientific roles at the Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC), where he helped establish the organization as a global leader in epigenetic chemical probe discovery. He played a central role in managing complex, multi-partner projects between academia and industry, and most recently organized antiviral probe discovery efforts at the SGC site at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, contributing to the NIH’s AViDD program. 

Earlier in his career, Peter spent 19 years at GlaxoSmithKline, where he held various leadership positions in medicinal chemistry, including Section Head. His work focused on early-stage drug discovery and tool compound development, particularly within the Nuclear Receptor family. 

Peter earned his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Sheffield and completed postdoctoral research at Indiana University under Professor Philip Magnus, where he completed the total synthesis of (-)-Pleiomutine. He is a co-author of over 140 peer-reviewed publications, holds 9 patents, and has delivered more than 25 invited presentations at international scientific meetings. 

His areas of expertise include high-throughput screening, target-focused compound libraries, DNA-encoded libraries, and fragment-based drug discovery. 

Taleb Sedighi, PhD

Director, Proteomics

Taleb is a distinguished scholar with a PhD in Bioanalytical Chemistry from Simon Fraser University in Canada, complemented by an MSc and BSc in Analytical Chemistry. With a robust 16 years of experience, Taleb’s expertise lies in utilizing mass spectrometry techniques for the analysis of proteins and small molecules.

Since joining Dalriada in January 2021, Taleb has led the development of innovative platforms in chemoproteomics and covalent hit identification cascade, which have significantly contributed to over 20 covalent and targeted protein degradation programs.

Before joining Dalriada, Taleb was a Research Associate at the Patrick Gunning lab at the University of Toronto, where he played a pivotal role in establishing various proteomics and DMPK methods crucial for supporting early drug discovery programs.

Beyond his professional accomplishments, Taleb’s passion for science and research is evident, underscored by his authorship of 46 publications and numerous contributions to patent filings and grant proposals.

Pegah Ghiabi, PhD

Associate Director, Protein Production

Pegah brings over 25 years of extensive experience in biomedical research and leadership, Pegah brings a wealth of expertise in cancer research, protein science, and drug discovery within academic settings.

Prior to joining Dalriada, Pegah served as a senior research associate and Head of the protein production core facility at the Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC), University of Toronto. In this role, she provided strategic guidance and supervision for generating protein targets crucial to numerous drug discovery projects, collaborating with both academic and industry partners. Notable collaborations included projects with Nurix Therapeutics, Pfizer, Bristol Myers Squibb, Takeda, Merck KGaA, Janssen, Novartis, and X-Chem.

As a leader of the protein production team, Pegah brings unparalleled expertise in human and viral protein production. Her proficiencies span target selection, construct design, expression vector selection, protein expression across bacterial, insect, and mammalian systems, protein purification, and biophysical approaches for protein quality assessment. Pegah boasts extensive experience across various target classes, including helicases, proteases, methyltransferases, exonucleases, E3 ligases, polymerases, the WDR protein family, and structural proteins in both human and viruses.

Pegah holds an MSc in Cell Biology from McGill University, Canada, and a PhD in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Paris-Sud (XI), France. After her doctoral studies, she undertook a postdoctoral position at Weill Cornell University in the USA.

Kaushik Ghosal, PhD

Head of BD, North America

Kaushik Ghosal is a successful entrepreneur and business development executive with over 15 years of bio-pharma experience in a variety of R&D and BD roles across several verticals in R&D business models, corporate expansion and strategic leadership in drug discovery and early development. Most recently Kaushik was Director of BD at Evotec (NASDAQ: EVO) leading partnered drug discovery and development programs for both stand alone and integrated drug discovery projects for several small and large biotechs, drug development accelerators and large pharma clients. 

​Prior to Evotec, Kaushik was the Director of Business Development at BioMotiv where he was instrumental in launching and leading a portfolio of venture-backed biotechs such as Sujana Bio, Optikira, Koutif Therapeutics. During his tenure, BioMotiv and Harrington project grew into a 360M + global initiative and established strategic partnerships with Takeda, Biogen, Arix Bioscience and Charles River Laboratories. At BioMotiv, Kaushik also founded therapeutic focused start-ups such as BioExcel and Inclera therapeutics to advance academic sourced drug discovery programs, some of which developed into clinical stage assets.

Before BioMotiv, Kaushik was Director of R&D at ReXceptor Inc, a clinical stage biotech company where he led preclinical and clinical development, establishing strategic partnerships with pharmaceutical companies and drug-development accelerators. 

Kaushik received MSc in Biotechnology (Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay), a Ph.D. from Miami University and completed his postdoctoral training in Neuroscience from the Cleveland Clinic. Kaushik has served on various advisory and on the boards of non-profit and for-profit organizations in the healthcare field such as NIH, John Hopkins Technology Ventures, EDI and Case Venture Mentorship Program.

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Mohammad Eram, PhD

Senior Director, Discovery R&D

Mohammad attained his PhD in Biochemistry and Enzymology at the University of Waterloo (Canada) and holds MSc degree in Medical Microbiology and a BSc degree in Cell and Molecular Biology. As the Director of Biology Department at Dalriada, he oversees the work of the cell biology, biochemistry and biophysics and proteomics teams.

Prior to joining Dalriada, Mohammad worked on early stage hit discovery projects at the Structural Genomics Consortium in Toronto, including projects in collaboration with Bayer, Takeda, Eli Lilly, and Merck. His work at SGC focused on biochemical and biophysical methods with applications to high-throughput and fragment-based drug discovery.

With over 17 years in biochemical/biophysical assays and small molecule R&D, Mohammad was involved in programs spanning small molecule inhibitor modalities including allosteric inhibitors, tight binders, targeted covalent therapeutics, and protein degraders. These programs covered a diverse range of protein targets including transcription factors, epigenetic modulators, oxidoreductases, dehydrogenases, kinases, methyl- and acetyltransferases, deacetylases, demethylases, PPI, GPCRs, and transcription regulators.

Jeff O’Meara, MSc

VP Drug Discovery

As Vice President, Drug Discovery at Dalriada, Jeff is responsible for overseeing all drug discovery activities from target identification to pre-clinical development. Jeff has nearly 30 years of drug discovery experience in hit ID, hit to lead, lead optimization and candidate nomination in projects targeting kinases, protein-protein interactions, protein degraders, covalent inhibitors, proteases and GPCRs in the areas of anti-infectives, oncology, immunomodulation, pain and CNS therapeutics. Prior to Dalriada, Jeff was Head of Research at M4K Pharma where he led a successful multinational open science lead optimization drug discovery project targeting DIPG, a rare childhood cancer.

Previously, Jeff spent 8 years as an integral part of the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research’s Drug Discovery team where he drove hit to lead and lead optimization projects of which two were eventually partnered with pharma in deals totaling > $2B. Jeff also trained for 17 years as a medicinal chemist and project team leader at Boehringer Ingelheim Canada Ltd. where he helped discover several novel antivirals that progressed to clinical trials. He has published more than 50 papers and patents in the fields of medicinal chemistry and drug discovery and in 2010 was the recipient of the American Chemical Society’s TAOC award.

Jeff has an M.Sc. in organic chemistry from University of Ottawa.

Tom Coulter, PhD

Head, Drug Discovery Programs and Partnerships

Tom is part of the R&D leadership team, overseeing partnership activities, drug discovery program planning and execution, as well as lifecycle management for current and prospective partners.

Over the past three decades, Tom has held senior roles in European pharma and biotech, including almost 20 years in contract research with Evotec as Senior Vice President, Drug Discovery, and more recently growing and leading Selvita’s integrated drug discovery portfolio.

Tom’s background is in medicinal chemistry, and he has extensive experience in the discovery and delivery of new small molecule and biologic agents targeting enzymes, GPCRs and other cell membrane targets including ion channels and SNARE proteins. He has managed multiple drug discovery programs covering the hit identification, hit to lead, and lead optimization stages of drug discovery, including 15 projects resulting in nomination of preclinical development candidates in the fields of cancer, inflammation, endocrine disease and antivirals. Tom has also contributed to the identification of multiple investigational new drugs. In recent years Tom has driven the identification of commercial opportunities as well as the creation and execution of sophisticated integrated discovery collaborations for clients.

Tom has a BSc (Hons) degree in chemistry from the Queen’s University of Belfast and a PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Leeds under Professor Ron Grigg. After completing his PhD, he joined Jim Thomas’ group at the University of Manchester before starting his industrial career at Organon.

Rav Kumar, PhD

Chief Strategy Officer

Dr. Rav Kumar is Chief Strategy Officer at Dalriada. He spent 25 years with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) in the UK, France and Canada at vice-president level leading pharmaceutical R&D and business development. Key areas of expertise include formulation development, regulatory submissions, manufacturing and GMP audits. He has been involved with development of numerous medicines and vaccines plus many successful business change initiatives.

Most recently, he was Managing Director for Apotex in India (Bangalore and Mumbai), leading over 2,000 professionals in Pharmaceutical R&D, Manufacturing, Quality, Regulatory Affairs & Commercial Services.

Dr. Kumar is passionate about growing Canadian Life Sciences and has been involved with many industry-academic-government collaborations for which he was recognized with the Award for Leadership in in Canadian Pharmaceutical Sciences. He conceived the $150M spinout of GSK’s vaccines R&D to create the Neomed Vaccines and Biologics Centre of Excellence in Montreal. Other contributions include the CIHR Steering Committee for Patient Oriented Research, the Board of CQDM Research Consortium in Quebec and President of the Canadian Society for Pharmaceutical Sciences.

Dr. Kumar also serves as Director of The Centre for Medicinal Chemistry and an Assistant Professor at University of Toronto. He has a Pharmacy Degree and completed a PhD in Novel Drug Delivery at University of Bath in the UK.

Patrick Gunning, PhD

Co-founder & CSO

Patrick is a Professor of Chemistry at the University of Toronto, Canada Research Chair in Medicinal Chemistry, and Founder and Chief Scientific Director of the Centre for Medicinal Chemistry (UofT). Patrick obtained his PhD at the University of Glasgow in 2005 under the supervision of Profs. Robert Peacock and Andrew C. Benniston, and conducted post-doctoral studies at Yale University with Prof Andrew Hamilton.

Patrick’s research has focused on developing inhibitors of numerous protein classes, including transcription factors, kinases, and epigenetic targets, using novel covalent therapeutics and monovalent protein degraders. Patrick has published ~120 research papers, is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, won 20 research awards including Canada’s Top 40 under 40, the 2010 Boehringer Ingelheim Young Investigator Award, the 2012 RSC MedChemComm Emerging Investigator Lectureship by the Royal Society for Chemistry, Rose Winer Levin Lectureship at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (2015), and the 2016 Canadian Society for Chemistry’s Bernard Belleau award.

Patrick, the co-founder and CSO of Dalriada Drug Discovery, has founded three other biotech companies with over $34M in funding, including Janpix Inc, now a Centessa Pharmaceuticals’ company, Dunad Therapeutics, and Dalriada Therapeutics.

Diana Kraskouskaya, PhD

Co-founder & CEO

Diana completed Honors BSc Degree in Molecular Biology and PhD in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Toronto, and is a co-founder of two other biotechs, which have raised > $10 M in VC funding.

During her time in academia and biotech, Diana worked on diverse small molecule programs across protein-protein interactions, epigenetics, GPCRs, covalent inhibitors, and is an inventor on several patents.

As a co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Dalriada, Diana brings to Dalriada years of leadership and hands-on cross-disciplinary biotech and drug discovery experience spanning areas of company building, scientific & IP program strategy, and operations. ​

Following completion of her PhD, Diana took appointment as a research manager of the Centre for Medicinal Chemistry, where she was involved in multiple drug discovery programs and provided oversight over the build-out of the >$100 M integrated drug discovery infrastructure at the University of Toronto. Diana co-founded and led two other biotechs, Dunad Therapeutics and Dalriada Therapeutics. In this process she recognized the shortcomings of the existing options for outsourcing innovative science, which led to the creation of Dalriada Drug Discovery’s Turn-Key™ Model. With this new model and under Diana’s leadership the company has grown to over 60 people within 3 years. ​

Diana is the recipient of several entrepreneurship awards, including RBC Prize for Innovation & Entrepreneurship and the 2018 MNP Future Leaders awards.

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