Synthesis of thieno[2,3-c]pyridine derived GRK2 inhibitors

Bicyclic heteroaromatic motifs with hydrogen bond donor–acceptor hinge binder motifs are frequently used as ATP-mimetic kinase inhibitors. Althought the thieno[2,3-c]pyridine scaffold also meets these criteria its use was limited so far by the availability of synthetic building blocks. Inspired by two X-ray structures of kinase bound thieno[2,3-c]pyridines we prepared a diverse collection of simple thieno[2,3-c]pyridine derivatives that could serve as starting points for future drug discovery programs. In our search for inhibitors of the GRK2 kinase we also identified a hit compound bearing the thieno[2,3-c]pyridine moiety. Following a structure-driven optimization process a collection of potent and highly ligand efficient inhibitors were prepared and characterized, which could form the basis of a future drug discovery program.Graphical abstract