COMBRETASTATIN DERIVATIVES AND USES THEREFOR

摘要

Cancer is one of the major causes of death worldwide. Although many advances have been made in the treatment and management of the disease, the existence of chemotherapy-resistance means there is still a great need to develop new strategies and drugs for its treatment. Provided herein are synthetic derivatives of combretastatin A-4, in particular those in which the aromatic rings are locked into a non-isomerisable active conformation, thus resulting in improved, stable compounds. The novel compounds are structurally related to combretastatin A-4 (CA-4) and lock the rings into the known active conformation by means of a four membered nitrogen containing heterocyclic ring, such as a beta-lactam ring, incorporated into the standard CA-4 structure. The compounds exhibit potent anti-cancer activity.