P. Beaulieu, M. Bös, Y. Bousquet
Jan 5, 2004
Citations
3
Influential Citations
98
Citations
Quality indicators
Journal
Bioorganic & medicinal chemistry letters
Abstract
Benzimidazole 5-carboxamide derivatives from a combinatorial screening library were discovered as specific inhibitors of the NS5B polymerase of the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Initial hit-to-lead activities taking advantage of high-throughput parallel synthetic techniques, identified a 1,2-disubstituted benzimidazole 5-carboxylic acid scaffold as the minimum core for biological activity. Potent analogues in this series inhibit the polymerase at low micromolar concentrations and provide an attractive "drug-like" lead structure for further optimization and the development of potential HCV therapeutics.