Compounds and compositions for treating HER2 positive tumors

1. A compound, having a structure of Formula (Ia):

TM-L-AM   (Ia),

wherein

TM is an antibody or a functional fragment thereof that specifically binds to Her2/Neu;

L is a linker; and

AM is an activating moiety that is a TLR7 and TLR8 agonist having a structure of formula (I):

wherein

dashed line represents bond or absence of bond,

is the point to be connected to the linker,

X is S or —NR 1 , R 1 is —W 0 —W 1 —W 2 —W 3 —W 4 ,

W 0 is a bond, alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, alkoxy, or -alkyl-S-alkyl-,

W 1 is a bond, —O—, or —NR 2 —, wherein R 2 is hydrogen, alkyl or alkenyl,

W 2 is a bond, —O—, —C(O)—, —C(S)—, or —S(O) 2 —,

W 3 is a bond or —NR 3 —, wherein R 3 is hydrogen, alkyl or alkenyl,

W 4 is hydrogen, alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, alkoxy, cycloalkyl, aryl, aryloxy, heteroaryl, or heterocyclyl, each of which is optionally substituted by one or more substituents selected from the group consisting of hydroxyl, alkoxy, alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, heteroaryl, heterocyclyl, —NH 2 , nitro, -alkyl-hydroxyl, -alkyl-aryl, -alkyl-heteroaryl, -alkyl-heterocyclyl, —O—R 4 , —O-alkyl-R 4 , -alkyl-O—R 4 , —C(O)—R 4 , -alkyl-C(O)—R 4 , -alkyl-C(O)—O—R 4 , —C(O)—O—R 4 , —S—R 4 , —S(O) 2 —R 4 , —NH—S(O) 2 —R 4 , -alkyl-S—R4, -alkyl-S(O) 2 —R 4 , —NHR 4 , —NR 4 R 4 , —NH-alkyl-R 4 , halogen, —CN, —NO 2 , and —SH, wherein R 4 is independently hydrogen, alkyl, alkenyl, -alkyl-hydroxyl, aryl, heteroaryl, heterocyclyl, or haloalkyl,

Z is hydrogen, alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, alkoxy, aryl, haloalkyl, heteroaryl, or heterocyclyl, each of which can be optionally substituted by one or more substituents selected from the group consisting of hydroxyl, alkoxy, alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, aryl, heteroaryl, heterocyclyl, halogen, cyano, nitro, —N(R 5 ) 2 , -alkoxy-alkyl, -alkoxy-alkenyl, —C(O)-alkyl, —C(O)—O-alkyl, —O—C(O)-alkyl, —C(O)—N(R 5 ) 2 , aryl, heteroaryl, —CO-aryl, and —CO-heteroaryl, wherein each R 5 is independently hydrogen, alkyl, haloalkyl, -alkyl-aryl, or -alkyl-heteroaryl,

R is hydrogen, alkyl, alkoxy, haloalkyl, halogen, aryl, heteroaryl, or heterocyclyl, each of which is optionally substituted by one or more substituents selected from the group consisting of hydroxyl, alkoxy, alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, cycloalkyl, aryl, heteroaryl, heterocyclyl, —NH 2 , nitro, -alkyl-hydroxyl, -alkyl-aryl, -alkyl-heteroaryl, -alkyl-heterocyclyl, —O—R 4 , —O-alkyl-R 4 , -alkyl-O—R 4 , —C(O)—R 4 , —C(O)—NH—R 4 , —C(O)—NR 4 R 4 , -alkyl-C(O)—R 4 , -alkyl-C(O)—O—R 4 , —C(O)—O—R 4 , —O—C(O)—R 4 , —S—R 4 , —C(O)—S—R 4 , —S—C(O)—R 4 , —S(O) 2 —R 4 , —NH—S(O) 2 —R 4 , -alkyl-S—R 4 , -alkyl-S(O) 2 —R 4 , —NHR 4 , —NR 4 R 4 , —NH-alkyl-R 4 , halogen, —CN, and —SH, wherein R 4 is as defined above,

n is 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4,

Y is —NR 6 R 7 , —CR 6 R 7 R 8 , or -alkyl-NH 2 , each of which can be optionally substituted by one or more substituents selected from the group consisting of hydroxyl, alkoxy, alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, —NH 2 , halogen, —N(R 5 ) 2 , -alkoxy-alkyl, -alkoxy-alkenyl, —C(O)-alkyl, —C(O)—O-alkyl, —C(O)—N(R 5 ) 2 , aryl, heteroaryl, —CO-aryl, and —CO-heteroaryl,

wherein R 6 , R 7 and R 8 are independently hydrogen, alkyl, alkenyl, alkoxy, alkylamino, dialkylamino, alkylthio, arylthio, -alkyl-hydroxyl, -alkyl-C(O)—O—R 9 , -alkyl-C(O)—R 9 , or -alkyl-O—C(O)—R 9 , wherein each R 5 is independently hydrogen, alkyl, haloalkyl, -alkyl-aryl, or -alkyl-heteroaryl, wherein R 9 is hydrogen, alkyl, alkenyl, halogen, or haloalkyl, and

X and Z taken together may optionally form a (5-9)-membered ring;

or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

2. The compound of claim 1 , wherein AM is a compound selected from the group consisting of: 2-propylthiazolo[4,5-c]quinolin-4-amine and 4-amino-2-(ethoxymethyl)-a,a-di-methyl-1H-imidazo[4,5-c]quinoline-1-ethanol, wherein the amine group on the quinoline ring is the point of connection with the linker.

3. The compound of claim 1 , wherein L is represented by a structure of formula (II):

m is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6, each b independently is 0 or 1, and D is independently represented by a structure of formula (III):

wherein each i independently is 0 or 1;

each j independently is 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6;

each A independently is S, O, or N—Ra, wherein Ra is hydrogen, alkyl, alkenyl, or alkoxy;

each B independently is alkyl, alkenyl, —O-alkyl-, -alkyl-O—, —S-alkyl-, -alkyl-S—, aryl, heteroaryl, heterocyclyl, or peptide, each of which is optionally substituted by one or more substituents selected from the group consisting of hydroxyl, alkoxy, alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, cycloalkyl, -alkyl-aryl, -alkyl-heteroaryl, -alkyl-heterocyclyl, —O—R 4 , —O-alkyl-R 4 , —C(O)—R 4 , —C(O)—O—R 4 , —S—R 4 , —S(O) 2 —R 4 , —NHR 4 , —NH-alkyl-R 4 , halogen, —CN, —NO 2 , and —SH, wherein R 4 is alkyl, alkenyl, -alkyl-hydroxyl, aryl, heteroaryl, heterocyclyl, or haloalkyl.

4. The compound of claim 3 , wherein the linker is represented by any one of the following structures of formula (V)-(VII):

5. The compound of claim 4 , wherein the linker is selected from S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, -Gly-Phe-Leu-Gly-, -Ala-Leu-Ala-Leu-, -Phe-Arg-, -Phe-Lys-, -Val-Lys-, -Val-Ala-, or Val-Cit-, wherein S1-S7 are represented by the following structures:

wherein each m is independently 1 to 20.

6. The compound of claim 1 , wherein the antibody is trastuzumab, pertuzumab, or margetuximab.

7. The compound of claim 1 , wherein TM is an anti-HER2 antibody; L is selected from S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, -Gly-Phe-Leu-Gly-, -Ala-Leu-Ala-Leu-, -Phe-Arg-, -Phe-Lys-, -Val-Lys-, -Val-Ala-, and Val-Cit-; AM is a compound of formula (I) selected from selected from 2-propylthiazolo[4,5-c]quinolin-4-amine and 4-amino-2-(ethoxymethyl)-a,a-di-methyl-1H-imidazo[4,5-c]quinoline-1-ethanol, wherein the amine group on the quinoline ring is the point of connection with the linker and S1-S7 are represented by the following structures:

wherein each m is independently 1 to 20.

8. The compound of claim 7 , wherein the anti-HER2 antibody is trastuzumab, pertuzumab, or margetuximab; and L is S1, S2 or S3.

9. The compound of claim 8 , wherein the anti-HER2 antibody is trastuzumab (Herceptin); and AM is Resiquimod or Imiquimod, wherein the amine group on the quinoline ring is the point of connection with the linker.

10. The compound of claim 1 , wherein the compound has a structure of Formula A, B, or C:

or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

11. The compound of claim 10 , wherein the anti-HER2 antibody is trastuzumab, pertuzumab, or margetuximab; and the compound of formula (I) is selected from 2-propylthiazolo[4,5-c]quinolin-4-amine and 4-amino-2-(ethoxymethyl)-a,a-di-methyl-1H-imidazo[4,5-c]quinoline-1-ethanol and wherein the amine group on the quinoline ring is the point of connection with the linker.

12. The compound of claim 11 , wherein the compound of formula (I) is Resiquimod or Imiquimod, wherein the amine group on the quinoline ring is the point of connection with the linker.

13. The compound of claim 10 , wherein the anti-HER2 antibody is trastuzumab.

14. A pharmaceutical composition comprising an effective amount of the compound according to claim 10 and one or more pharmaceutically acceptable carriers.

15. The pharmaceutical composition of claim 14 , further comprising an effective amount of an additional therapeutic agent.

16. The pharmaceutical composition of claim 15 , wherein the additional therapeutic agent is an anticancer agent selected from an antimetabolite, an inhibitor of topoisomerase I and II, an alkylating agent, a microtubule inhibitor, an antiandrogen agent, a GNRh modulator, and mixtures thereof.

17. A method of treating a HER2 positive tumor/cancer in a subject comprising administering to the subject the compound of claim 1 .

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein the tumor/cancer is selected from esophageal, stomach, colon, rectal, pancreatic, lung, breast, cervix uteri, corpus uteri, ovary, bladder, head and neck, endometrial, osteosarcoma, prostate, and neuroblastoma.

19. A method of treating a HER2 positive tumor/cancer in a subject comprising administering to the subject a compound according to claim 10 .

20. A compound, having a structure of Formula (Ia):

TM-L-AM  (Ia),

wherein

TM is an antibody or a functional fragment thereof that specifically binds to Her2/Neu;

L is a linker; and

AM is

wherein is the point to be connected to the linker;

or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

21. The compound of claim 20 , wherein the antibody is trastuzumab.