Sulfonamides having antiangiogenic and anticancer activity

1. A compound of formula (III)

or a therapeutically acceptable salt thereof, wherein

R 1 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, C 1 -C 4 alkyl, C 2 -C 4 alkenyl, C 1 -C 4 alkoxy, R a R b N— and R a R b Nalkoxy, wherein R a and R b are each independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and alkyl;

R 2 is selected from the group consisting of alkoxy, alkoxyalkyl, C 1 -C 10 alkyl, alkylsulfanyl, alkylsulfanylalkyl, alkylsulfonyl, alkylsulfonylalkyl, amino, aminoalkyl, cycloalkyl and (cycloalkyl)alkyl;

R 3 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and alkyl;

R 4 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, alkenyl, alkoxy, alkoxyalkyl, alkoxycarbonyl, alkyl, alkylcarbonyl, alkylsulfonyl, alkylsulfanyl, alkylsulfanylalkyl, carboxy, cyano, cyanoalkyl, cycloalkyl, (cycloalkyl)alkyl, heteroaryl, heterocycle, heterocyclealkyl, heterocyclealkenyl, hydroxy, hydroxyalkyl, nitro, phenyl, phenylsulfonyl, R c4 R d4 N—, R c4 R d4 Nalkyl, R c4 R d4 Nalkenyl, R c4 R d4 Nalkynyl, R c4 R d4 Nalkoxy, R c4 R d4 Nalkoxycarbonyl, R c4 R d4 Ncarbonyl, R c4 R d4 Ncycloalkyl, R c4 R d4 Nalkylcycloalkyl, R c4 R d4 N(cycloalkyl)alkyl, R c4 R d4 Nsulfinyl, R e4 R f4 Nalkyl(R c4 )N—, R e4 R f4 Nalkyl(R c4 )Ncarbonyl, R e4 R f4 Nalkyl(R c4 )Ncarbonylalkenyl, R e4 R f4 Nalkylcarbonyl(R c4 )N—, R e4 R f4 Nalkoxycarbonyl(R c4 )N—, R c4 R d4 Nalkylsulfanyl, R c4 R d4 Nalkylsulfinyl, R c4 R d4 Nalkylsulfonyl, R g4 R j4 Nalkyl(R c4 )Ncarbonyl(R c4 )N—; wherein the phenyl group, the phenyl group of phenylsulfonyl, the heteroaryl, the heterocycle, the heterocycle of heterocyclealkyl, the heterocycle of heterocyclealkenyl may be optionally substituted with 1, 2 or 3 substituents selected from the group consisting of alkoxy, alkyl, cyano and nitro; and wherein R c4 , R d4 , R e4 , R f4 , R g4 and R j4 are each independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, alkoxyalkyl, alkyl, alkylcarbonyl, aminoalkyl, cycloalkyl, (cycloalkyl)alkyl, heterocycle and phenyl, or each individual pair of R c4 and R d4 , or R e4 and R f4 , or R g4 and R j4 taken together with the nitrogen atom they are each attached form a heterocycle;

R 5 is selected from the group consisting of alkyl, amino, aminoalkyl, aryl, arylalkenyl, arylalkyl, heteroaryl, heteroarylalkenyl, heteroarylalkyl, heterocycle, heterocyclealkyl and heterocyclealkenyl, wherein aryl, the aryl group of arylalkenyl, the aryl group of arylalkyl, the heteroaryl, the heteroaryl of heteroarylalkenyl, the heteroaryl of heteroarylalkyl, and the heterocycle of R 5 may be optionally substituted with 1, 2 or 3 substituents independently selected from the group consisting of alkenyl, alkoxy, alkoxycarbonyl, alkyl, alkylcarbonyl, alkylsulfonyl, aminoalkyl, phenyl, phenylsulfonyl, carboxy, cyano, cyanoalkyl, heteroaryl, heterocycle, heterocyclealkyl, heterocyclealkenyl, hydroxy, nitro, R c5 R d5 N—, R c5 R d5 Nalkyl, R c5 R d5 Nalkenyl, R c5 R d5 Nalkynyl, R c5 R d5 Nalkoxy, R c5 R d5 Nalkoxycarbonyl, R c5 R d5 Ncarbonyl, R c5 R d5 Ncycloalkyl, R c5 R d5 Nalkylcycloalkyl, R c5 R d5 Ncycloalkylalkyl, R c5 R d5 Nsulfinyl, R e5 R f5 Nalkyl(R c5 )N—, R e5 R f5 Nalkyl(R c5 )Ncarbonyl, R e5 R f5 Nalkyl(R e5 )Ncarbonylalkenyl, R e5 R f5 Nalkylcarbonyl(R c5 )N—, R e5 R f5 Nalkoxycarbonyl(R c5 )N—, R c5 R d5 Nalkylsulfanyl, R c5 R d5 Nalkylsulfinyl, R c5 R d5 Nalkylsulfonyl, R g5 R j5 Nalkyl(R e5 )Ncarbonyl(R c5 )N—; wherein the phenyl group, the phenyl group of phenylsulfonyl, the heteroaryl, the heterocycle, the heterocycle of heterocyclealkyl, the heterocycle of heterocyclealkenyl may be optionally substituted with 1, 2 or 3 substituents selected from the group consisting of alkoxy, alkyl, cyano, and nitro; and wherein R c5 , R d5 , R e5 , R f5 , R g5 and R j5 are each independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, alkoxyalkyl, alkyl, alkylcarbonyl, aminoalkyl, cycloalkyl, (cycloalkyl)alkyl, heterocycle and phenyl; and

R 6 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, alkyl, alkylsulfanylalkyl, aryl, and arylalkyl.

2. A pharmaceutical composition comprising a compound of claim 1 or a therapeutically acceptable salt thereof in combination with a therapeutically acceptable carrier.

3. A compound of claim 1 selected from the group consisting of

5-ethyl-2-[(phenylsulfonyl)amino]benzoic acid,

5-isopropyl-2-[(phenylsulfonyl)amino]benzoic acid,

5-isobutyl-2-[(phenylsulfonyl)amino]benzoic acid,

2-[(phenylsulfonyl)amino]-5-propylbenzoic acid,

5-cyclopentyl-2-[(phenylsulfonyl)amino]benzoic acid,

5-cyclohexyl-2-[(phenylsulfonyl)arnino]benzoic acid,

5-butyl-2-[(phenylsulfonyl)amino]benzoic acid,

5-(3-methylbutyl)-2-[(phenylsulfonyl )amino]benzoic acid,

5-(2-methylbutyl)-2-[(phenylsulfonyl)amino]benzoic acid,

5-pentyl-2-[(phenylsulfonyl)amino]benzoic acid,

5-(2-ethylbutyl)-2-[(phenylsulfonyl)amino]benzoic acid,

5-hexyl-2-[(phenylsulfonyl)amino]benzoic acid,

5-ethyl-2-{[(3-methylphenyl)sulfonyl]amino}benzoic acid,

5-ethyl-2-{[(3-fluorophenyl)sulfonyl]amino}benzoic acid,

2-{[(2-chlorophenyl)sulfonyl]amino}-5-ethylbenzoic acid,

2-{[(3,4-difluorophenyl)sulfonyl]amino}-5-ethylbenzoic acid,

5-ethyl-2-( {[3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]sulfonyl }amino)benzoic acid,

5-ethyl-2-{[(4-methylphenyl)sulfonyl]amino }benzoic acid,

2-{[(3-cyanophenyl)sulfonyl]amino}-5-ethylbenzoic acid,

2-{[(4-cyanophenyl)sulfonyl]amino}-5-ethylbenzoic acid,

2-{[(2,5-dimethylphenyl)sulfonyl]amino}-5-ethylbenzoic acid,

5-ethyl-2-{[(3-methoxyphenyl)sulfonyl]amino}benzoic acid,

2-{[(2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)sulfonyl]amino}-5-ethylbenzoic acid,

5-ethyl-2-({[2-(methylsulfonyl)phenyl]sulfonyl }amino)benzoic acid,

5-ethyl-2-({[2-(trifluoromethoxy)phenyl]sulfonyl }amino)benzoic acid and

2-({[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]sulfonyl}amino)-5-ethylbenzoic acid.