N-OXIDE-CONTAINING PHARMACEUTICAL COMPOUNDS

摘要

The invention provides a method of preparing a therapeutically active compound having reduced hERG activity, which method comprises: (a) selecting a non-N-oxide drug compound containing a basic tertiary amino group, wherein said non-N-oxide compound is known to have or is suspected of having a therapeutically unacceptable level of hERG inhibitory activity; (b) testing the non-N-oxide drug compound for hERG inhibitory activity; (c) reacting the non-N-oxide drug compound with an oxidising agent to form an N- oxide drug compound having an N-oxide at the basic tertiary amino group; (d) testing the N-oxide drug compound for hERG inhibitory activity; (e) testing the N-oxide drug compound for therapeutically useful activity; (f) comparing the hERG inhibitory activity of the N-oxide drug compound and non- N-oxide drug compound; and (g) when the N-oxide drug compound has therapeutically useful activity and has hERG activity which is at least ten fold less than the hERG inhibitory activity of the non-N-oxide drug compound, formulating the N-oxide drug compound for use in medicine. Also provided by the invention are novel compounds prepared by the aforementioned method and the use of the novel compounds in medicine.