Retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor gamma-t (RORγt) inhibitors in clinical development for the treatment of autoimmune diseases: a patent review (2016-present).

Introduction: RORγt is critical for the differentiation of Th17 cells and the production of IL-17. Inhibition of RORγt is considered as a promising strategy to treat Th17-mediated autoimmune diseases. Quite a number of RORγt inhibitors have been progressed into clinical trials, besides much biological interests in this attractive target. Areas covered: This article reviews the progress of RORγt inhibitors (antagonists and inverse agonists) that are active in clinical development based on an analysis of the related patents published by the corresponding companies in the period of January 2016 through May 2019. Expert opinion: The development of RORγt inhibitors has gone through a boom period in the past three years. However, with a little bit frustration, some of the frontrunner clinical compounds were either discontinued or suspended for further development possibly due to some safety concerns or lack of efficacy in humans. There is a need to probe deeply into these concerns in the on-going pre-clinical and clinical studies. Given the effectiveness of a few recently FDA-approved anti-IL-17(R) antibodies on psoriasis, the discovery of RORγt inhibitors continues to be an exciting field for the development of novel treatment approaches.