Structure-based design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of 1,1-dioxoisothiazole and benzo[b]thiophene-1,1-dioxide derivatives as novel inhibitors of hepatitis C virus NS5B polymerase.

A novel series of HCV NS5B polymerase inhibitors comprising 1,1-dioxoisothiazoles and benzo[b]thiophene-1,1-dioxides were designed, synthesized, and evaluated. SAR studies guided by structure-based design led to the identification of a number of potent NS5B inhibitors with nanomolar IC(50) values. The most potent compound exhibited IC(50) less than 10nM against the genotype 1b HCV polymerase and EC(50) of 70 nM against a genotype 1b replicon in cell culture. The DMPK properties of selected compounds were also evaluated.