FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention is in the field of antiviral agents and specifically relates to compounds, compositions and methods for treating herpesvirus infections.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION There is a great need for new therapies active in the treatment of viral diseases. Whereas there has been great progress in developing a variety of therapies for the treatment of bacterial infections, there are few viable therapies for the treatment of herpesvirus. ganciclovir, aciclovir and foscarnet are currently utilized for the treatment of herpesvirus infections, however, these therapies can have substantial side effects based on their deleterious effects on host cell DNA replication. They also affect a limited number of viral infections. In addition, viruses are known to develop resistance to therapies, and such resistance causes a progressive decline in efficacy.

Viruses are classified into broad categories based on whether they incorporate RNA or DNA. Important virus families classified of RNA type include orthomyxoviridae, paramyxoviridae, picornaviridae, rhabdoviridae, coronaviridae, togaviridae, bunyaviridae, arenaviridae and retroviridae. Important virus families classified of DNA type include adenoviridae, poxviridae, papovaviridae and herpesviridae.

Herpesviridae is a family of DNA viruses which include herpes simplex virus type-1 (HSV-l) , herpes simplex virus type-2 (HSV-2) , cyto egalovirus (CMV) , varicella-zoster virus (VZV) , Epstein-Barr virus, human herpesvirus-β (HHV-β) , human herpesvirus-7 (HHV-7),

human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8), pseudorabies and rhinotracheitis, among others.

It is known that herpesvirus replicate by directing the synthesis of a number of proteins encoded by the herpesvirus DNA in the host cell. One of the important virus-encoded proteins is made as a fusion protein precursor consisting of an amino terminal- located protease and carboxyl terminal-located capsid assembly protein. This precursor is proteolytically processed in an autocatalytic manner at a specific amino acid sequence known as the "release" site, yielding separate protease and capsid assembly protein. The capsid assembly protein is cleaved further by the protease at another specific amino acid sequence known as the "maturation" cleavage site. U.S. Patent No. 5,478,727, to Roizman and Liu, describes a virus- specific serine protease which has a role in HSV replication. Liu and Roizman [J ^" . Virol, 65, 5149 (1991)] describe the sequence and activity of a protease and the associated assembly protein encoded by U 26 of HSV-l. Recently, U.S. Patent No. 5,434,074, to W. Gibson and A. Welch, describes a simian CMV protease. A. Welch et al. [Proc. Natl . Acad. Sci . USA, 88, 10792 (1991)] describe the related protease (also known as assemblin) and assembly protein encoded by U__,80 of a human CMV. An approach currently being investigated for potential use in the treatment of herpesvirus infections is the development of inhibitors of herpesvirus proteases. Arylketones containing a tetrazolylcarbonylamino substituent have been described. European publication EP 337,701, published April 11, 1988, describes the use of 3-acetyl-5-fluoro-2-hydroxytetrazole-5-carboxanilide for treating autoimmune disorders or arthritis. Substituted arylureas have been described in

European publication EP 355,819, published February 28, 1990, as high intensity sweeteners.

Aryltrihalomethylketones combined with hydrogen peroxide have been described in European patent publication EP 298,020, published Jan. 4, 1989, as reagents for epoxidation of steroids. German patent document DE 4,201,435, describes a method of preparing trifluoromethylketones from the alcohols.

U.S. Patent No. 4,855,460, to M. Tordeux et al. , describes the formation of simple pseudoacids via perfluoroalkylation of acid anhydrides. Specifically, trifluoroacetophenone is described.

WO 92/18475, published October 29, 1992, describes phenylsubstituted pyrrolidines as dopamine receptor agonist/antagonists. Aryltrifluoromethylcarbinols have been described in U.S. Patent No. U.S. 4,285,943, issued to M. Vincent et al., as analgesic, antipyretic, and anti-inflammatory agents.

Inhibition of serine proteases by electrophilic carbonyl derivatives, in particular peptidyl derivatives possessing an electrophilic carbonyl or boron group, is a well documented process. Early work describes where the P^ cleavage site is mimicked by an electrophilic aldehyde, alpha-ketoester, trifluoromethylketone, alphaketoamide, or boronic ester. [See J. Powers and J. Wade Harper, " Inhibitors of Serine Proteases" , in Proteinase Inhibitors, 55- 152 (1986); R. Wiley and D. Rich, Medicinal Research Reviews, 13, 327-384 (1993).]

For example, the compounds in European patent publication EP 276,101, published July 27, 1988, are described as inhibiting human leukocyte elastase (HLE) . Generally, the inhibitors consist of a proline-based peptidyl sequence which is terminated by a trifluoro- methylketone. European publication EP 249,349, published December 16, 1987, describes a proline- derived peptide sequence terminated by a 2,2-difluoro- 3-phenyl-1, 3-dicarbonyl group. European publication EP 204,571, published December 12, 1986, describes a

proline-derived peptide sequence consisting of one- three amino acids and terminated by a 2,2-difluoro-3- pheny1-1, 3-dicarbonyl group.

Several references have described aryltrifluoromethylketones as inhibitors of acetylcholinesterase, a serine esterase. European publication EP 403,713, published December 27, 1990, describes m- (silyl)ρhenylfluoroketones in treatment of Alzheimers disease and senile dementia. U.S. Patent No. 5,166,181 describes [m- (alkylaminoalkyl)aryl] - haloketone compounds as acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. Specifically, 1- [3- [1- (N,N- dimethylamino) ethylIphenyl] -2, 2,2-trifluoroethanone is described. Halosubstituted acetophenones have not previously been described as selective herpesvirus protease inhibitors or for the treatment and/or prophylaxis of herpesvirus infection.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a class of halo¬ substituted acetophenones, useful in the therapeutic and prophylactic treatment of viral infections, as defined by Formula I:

wherein each of R ¹ , R ² , R ³ , and R ⁴ is independently selected from hydrido, alkyl, aralkyl, halo, alkoxy, cyano, nitro, amino, alkylamino, N- acylamino, alkylsulfonyloxy, aminosulfonyl, N- (haloalkylcarbonyl) amino, peptidyl, amino acid residue,

wherein R^ is selected from alkoxy, aryloxy, aralkyloxy, alkylthio, arylthio, aralkylthio, alkylamino, arylamino, aralkylamino, alkyl, aryl, aralkyl, heterocyclyl, and heterocyclylalkyl, wherein R ⁵ is optionally substituted at a substitutable position with one or more substituents selected from alkyl, alkoxy, aryloxy, alkylthio, arylthio, halo, nitro, N-acylamino, amino, al ylamino, alkoxycarbony1, amino acid residue and peptidyl; wherein R^ is selected from alkyl, aryl, aralkyl, heterocyclyl and heterocyclylalkyl, wherein R^ is optionally substituted at a substitutable position with a radical selected from alkoxy, aryloxy, alkylthio, arylthio, halo, nitro, N-acylamino, amino, alkylamino and alkoxycarbonyl; wherein Y is selected from fluoroalkyl and

wherein Q is selected from alkoxy, aryloxy, aralkyloxy, amino acid residue, peptidyl, and -NHR ⁷ ; and wherein R ⁷ is a radical selected from alkyl, aralkyl, and heterocyclylalkyl, wherein R ⁷ is optionally substituted at a substitutable position with a radical selected from amino, nitrogen-containing heterocyclyl and alkylamino;

or a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt or tautomer thereof.

The compounds of this invention have been shown to be particularly effective against herpetoviridae. Thus they are particularly useful for the treatment of herpes simplex viruses (HSV-l, HSV-2), cytomegalovirus (CMV) , varicella-zoster virus (VZV) , Epstein-Barr (EBV), human herpesvirus-6 (HHV-6), human herpesvirus-7 (HHV-7), human herpesvirus-8 (HHV-8) , pseudorabies and rhinotracheitis, among others.

The invention further involves a method of treating a subject having a viral infection with an effective amount of a compound of Formula I. Preferably, the subject is treated with a herpesvirus protease inhibitor. More preferred is a method wherein the viral protease inhibitor is a CMV protease inhibitor, EBV protease, VZV protease or an HSV protease inhibitor. Even more preferred is a method wherein the subject is treated with an inhibitor of CMV protease, encoded by U 80, HSV-l protease or HSV-2 protease encoded by UL26, such as the halosubstituted acetophenone compounds of the present invention.

Besides being useful for human treatment, these compounds are also useful for veterinary treatment of animals, including companion animals and farm animals, such as, but not limited to, horses, dogs, cats, cows, fish, sheep and pigs.

The present compounds may also be used in co- therapies, partially or completely, in place of other conventional antiviral compounds, such as together with antivirals including but not limited to ganciclovir, docosanol, trifluridine, foscarnet, ribavirin, epervudine, interferon, thymostimulin, Ciba-Geigy CGP- 16056, sprofen, Efalith, ibuprofen piconol, ufenamate, thymopentin, aciclovir, valaciclovir, edoxudine, famciclovir, idoxuridine, vidarabine, Epavir, zinc acetate, tromantadine, riodoxol, sorivudine, Yakult

Honsha LC-9018, cidofovir, bromovinyldeoxyuridine, Lidakol, Stega Pharmaceutical cytokine-releasing agent, CSL ISCOM, penciclovir, Viraplex, Pharmacia & Upjohn THF, Boehrmger Ingelheim BIRR-4, NIH peptide T, Virend, zinc glycerolate, and lobucavir.

A preferred class of compounds consists of those compounds of Formula I wherein each of R ¹ , R ² , R ³ , and R ⁴ is independently selected from hydrido, lower alkyl, lower aralkyl, halo, lower alkoxy, cyano, nitro, amino, lower alkylamino, N-acylamino, lower alkylsulfonyloxy, aminosulfonyl, lower N- (haloalkylcarbonyl)amino, amino acid residue, peptidyl,

wherein R^ is selected from lower alkoxy, phenyloxy, lower aralkyloxy, lower alkylthio, phenylthio, lower aralkylthio, lower alkylamino, arylammo, lower aralkylammo, lower alkyl, 6-10-membered aryl, lower aralkyl, 5-10-membered heterocyclyl, and lower heterocyclylalkyl, wherein R^ is optionally substituted at a substitutable position with one or more substituents selected from lower alkyl, lower alkoxy, phenyloxy, lower alkylthio, phenylthio, halo, nitro, N- acylamino, amino, lower alkylamino, lower alkoxycarbonyl, amino acid residue and peptidyl; wherein R> is selected from lower alkyl, 6-10-membered aryl, lower aralkyl, 5-10-membered heterocyclyl and lower heteroaralkyl, wherein R*> is optionally substituted at a substitutable position with a radical selected from lower alkoxy, phenyloxy, lower alkylthio, phenylthio, halo, nitro, N-acylamino, ammo, lower

alkylamino, and lower alkoxycarbonyl; wherein Y is selected from lower fluoroalkyl and

wherein Q is selected from lower alkoxy, phenyloxy, lower aralkyloxy, N-amino acid residue, N-peptidyl, and -NHR ⁷ ; and wherein R ⁷ is a radical selected from lower alkyl, lower aralkyl, and lower heteroaralkyl, wherein R ⁷ is optionally substituted at a substitutable position with one or more radical selected from amino, 5-6-membered nitrogen-containing heterocyclyl and lower N,N-dialkylamino; or a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt or tautomer thereof. A more preferred class of compounds consists of those compounds of Formula I wherein Y is lower fluoroalkyl; wherein each of R ¹ , R ² , R ³ , and R ⁴ is independently selected from hydrido, lower alkyl, halo, lower alkoxy, nitro, and amino; and wherein R^ is selected from phenylalkoxy, lower alkyl substituted with halo or phenyloxy, phenyl, lower phenylalkyl, and five-ten membered heteroaryl, wherein R^ is optionally substituted at a substitutable position of a phenyl or heteroaryl radical with one or more substituents selected from lower alkyl, lower alkoxy, phenyloxy, lower alkylthio, phenylthio, halo, nitro, N-acylamino, amino, lower alkylamino, lower alkoxycarbonyl, amino acid residue, and peptidyl; or a pharmaceutically- acceptable salt or tautomer thereof. An even more preferred class of compounds consists of those compounds of Formula I wherein Y is selected from difluoromethyl, trifluorome hy1, pentafluoroethyl, heptafluoropropyl, 1, 1-difluoroethyl, and 1,1- difluoropropyl; wherein each of R ¹ , R ² , R ³ , and R ⁴ is

independently selected from hydrido, methyl, ethyl, n- propyl, isopropyl, n-butyl, isobutyl, sec-butyl, tert- butyl, pentyl, hexyl, fluoro, chloro, bromo, iodo, methoxy, ethoxy, propoxy, isopropoxy, butoxy, tert- butoxy, nitro, and amino; wherein R^ is selected from phenylmethoxy, phenylethoxy, phenylpropoxy, fluoromethyl, difluoromethyl, trifluoromethyl, chloromethyl, dichloromethyl, trichloromethyl, pentafluoroethyl, heptafluoropropyl, difluorochloromethyl, dichlorofluoromethyl, difluoroethyl, difluoropropyl, dichloroethyl, dichloropropyl, phenyloxyethyl, phenyloxypropyl, phenyl, phenylmethyl, phenylethyl, furyl, pyrazinyl, oxazolyl, thiazolyl, thienyl, pyrrolyl, benzothienyl, benzofuranyl, indolyl, and pyridyl, wherein R^ is optionally substituted at a substitutable position of a phenyl or heteroaryl radical with one or more substituents selected from methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, isopropyl, n-butyl, isobutyl, sec-butyl, tert-butyl, pentyl, hexyl, methoxy, ethoxy, propoxy, isopropoxy, butoxy, tert-butoxy, phenyloxy, methylthio, phenylthio, fluoro, chloro, bromo, iodo, nitro, N-formylamino, acetylamino, amino, N,N-dimethylamino and methoxycarbonyl; or a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt or tautomer thereof.

Another more preferred class of compounds consists of those compounds of Formula I wherein Y is

wherein Q is selected from lower alkoxy, phenyloxy, lower aralkyloxy, N-amino acid residue, N-peptidyl, and -NHR ⁷ ; and wherein R ⁷ is a radical selected from lower alkyl, lower aralkyl, and lower heteroaralkyl, wherein

R ⁷ is optionally substituted at a substitutable position with a radical selected from amino, 5-6 membered nitrogen-containing heterocyclyl and lower N,N-dialkylamino; wherein each of R ¹ , R ² , R ³ , and R ⁴ is independently selected from hydrido, lower alkyl, halo, lower alkoxy, nitro, and amino; and wherein R5 is selected from phenylalkoxy, lower alkyl substituted with halo or phenyloxy, phenyl, lower phenylalkyl, and five-ten membered heteroaryl, wherein R^ is optionally substituted at a substitutable position of a phenyl or heteroaryl radical with one or more substituents selected from lower alkyl, lower alkoxy, phenyloxy, lower alkylthio, phenylthio, halo, nitro, N-acylamino, amino, lower alkylamino, lower alkoxycarbonyl, amino acid residue, and peptidyl; or a pharmaceutically- acceptable salt or tautomer thereof.

Another even more preferred class of compounds consists of those compounds of Formula I wherein Y is

wherein Q is selected from methoxy, ethoxy, propoxy, isopropoxy, butoxy, phenyloxy, benzyloxy, phenylethoxy, and -NHR ⁷ ; and wherein R ⁷ is a radical selected from methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, isopropyl, ^" n-butyl, isobutyl, sec-butyl, cert-butyl, pentyl, hexyl, benzyl, phenethyl, oxazolylmethyl, oxazolylethyl, imidazolylmethyl, imidazolylethyl, oxazolinylmethyl, oxazolinylethyl, indolylethyl, indolylmethyl, pyridylmethyl, thienylmethyl, and furylethyl, wherein R ⁷ is optionally substituted at a substitutable position with a radical selected from amino, piperidinyl, piperazinyl, pyrrolidinyl, morpholinyl, pyridyl, pyrimidyl and N,N-dimethylamino; wherein each of R ¹ , R ² , R ³ , and R ⁴ is independently selected from

hydrido, methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, isopropyl, n-butyl, isobutyl, sec-butyl, tert-butyl, pentyl, hexyl, fluoro, chloro, bromo, iodo, methoxy, ethoxy, propoxy, isopropoxy, butoxy, tert-butoxy, nitro, and amino; and wherein R ⁵ is selected from phenylmethoxy, phenylethoxy, phenylpropoxy, fluoromethyl, difluoromethyl, trifluoromethyl, chlorome hyl, dichloromethyl, pentafluoroethyl, heptafluoropropyl, difluorochloromethyl, dichlorofluoromethyl, difluoroethyl, difluoropropyl, dichloroethyl, dichloropropyl, phenyloxyethyl, phenyloxypropyl, phenyl, phenylmethyl, phenylethyl, furyl, pyrazinyl, oxazolyl, thiazolyl, thienyl, pyrrolyl, benzothienyl, benzofuranyl, indolyl, and pyridyl, wherein R^ is optionally substituted at a substitutable position on a phenyl or heteroaryl radical with one or more substituents selected from methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, isopropyl, n-butyl, isobutyl, sec-butyl, tert-butyl, pentyl, hexyl, methoxy, ethoxy, propoxy, isopropoxy, butoxy, tert-butoxy, tert-butoxy, phenyloxy, methylthio, phenylthio, fluoro, chloro, bromo, iodo, nitro, N-formylamino, N-acetylamino, amino, N,N- dimethylamino and methoxycarbonyl; or a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt or tautomer thereof. Another preferred class of compounds consists of those compounds of Formula II wherein

wherein each of R ¹ , R ² , and R ³ is independently selected from hydrido, halo, and nitro;

wherein R^ is selected from haloalkyl, optionally substituted aryl, optionally substituted aralkyl, optionally substituted heteroaryl, optionally substituted arylalkoxy and optionally substituted aryloxyalkyl; wherein Y is selected from fluoroalkyl, and

wherein R^ is alkylamino; or a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt or tautomer thereof .

Another preferred class of compounds consists of those compounds of Formula II wherein R ¹ is selected from hydrido, fluoro, chloro, bromo and iodo; wherein R ² is selected from hydrido, fluoro, chloro, bromo and iodo; wherein R ³ is selected from hydrido, fluoro, chloro, bromo, iodo and nitro; wherein R^ is selected from trifluoromethyl, phenyl, phenylmethyl, phenylethyl, furyl, pyridyl, pyrazinyl, thienyl, pyrrolyl, benzothienyl, benzofuranyl, indolyl, phenylmethyloxy, (phenyloxy)propyl and phenyloxymethyl; wherein Y is selected from trifluoromethyl and

wherein R^ is selected from methylamino, ethylamino, propylammo, isopropylammo and N,N-dimethylamino; or a pharmaceutically-acceptable salt or tautomer thereof. A family of specific compounds of particular interest within Formulas I and II consists of compounds

and pharmaceutically-acceptable salts thereof as follows: α-phenoxy-N-[2- (2,2,2-trifluoro-1-oxo- ethy1)phenyl]butanamide; N-[2- (2,2,2-trifluoro-1-oxoethyl)phenyl] furan-2- carboxamide- N-[5-fluoro-2- (2,2,2-trifluoro-1- oxoe hyl)phenyl]benzenepropanamide; N- [3-chloro-2- (2,2,2-trifluoro-1- oxoethyl)phenyl]benzenepropanamide; N- [2-(2,2,2-trifluoro-1- oxoethy1)phenyl]benzenepropanamide; N- [2- (2,2,2-trifluoro-1-oxoethyl)phenyl]pyrazine-2- carboxami e; phenylmethyl N-[2- (2,2,2-trifluoro-1- oxoethyl)phenyl]carbamate; N- [5-nitro-2-[2,2,2-trifluoro-1- oxoethyl)phenyl]benzenepropanamide; N-[4-fluoro-2- (2,2,2-trifluoro-1-oxoethyl)phenyl]furan- 2-carboxamide;

N-[2-(2,2,2-trifluoro-l-oxoethyl)phenyl]-l- benzothiophene-2-carboxamide; α,α,α-trifluoro-N- [2- (2,2,2-trifluoro-1- oxoethyl)phenyl]acetamide; N-[2- (2,2,2-trifluoro-1-oxoethyl)phenyl]pyridine-2- carboxamide; N-[2-(2,2,2-trifluoro-l-oxoethyl)phenyl]2- methoxybenzamide; N-[4-iodo-2-(2,2,2-trifluoro-1-oxoethyl)phenyl] furan-2- carboxamide;

N-[2-(2,2,2-trifluoro-1-oxoethyl)phenyl]4- chlorophenoxyacetamide; N-[2- (2,2,2-trifluoro-1-oxoethyl)phenyl] indolyl-2- carboxamide; N-[2- ⁽ 2,2,2-trifluoro-1-oxoethyl)phenyl]benzofurany1-2- carbσxamide; and

N-[2-(3-(2-propylammo) -3-oxo-2,2-difluoro-1- oxopropy1)phenyl]2-methoxyphenylcarboxamide.

As illustrated, the interconverting tautomers of Formula I (I and I') are encompassed within the scope of the present invention

I'

The term "hydrido" denotes a single hydrogen atom (H) . This hydrido radical may be attached, for example, to an oxygen atom to form a hydroxyl radical or two hydrido radicals may be attached to a carbon atom to form a methylene (-CH2-) radical. Where used, either alone or within other terms such as "haloalkyl",

"alkylthio", "alkoxyalkyl", and "aralkyl" the term "alkyl" embraces linear or branched radicals having one to about twenty carbon atoms or, preferably, one to about twelve carbon atoms. More preferred alkyl radicals are "lower alkyl" radicals having one to about ten carbon atoms. Most preferred are lower alkyl radicals having one to about six carbon atoms. Examples of such radicals include methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, isopropyl, n-butyl, isobutyl, sec-butyl, tert-butyl, pentyl, iso-a yl, hexyl and the like. The term "halo" means halogens such as fluorine, chlorine, bromine or iodine. The term "fluoroalkyl" embraces radicals wherein any one or more of the alkyl carbon atoms is substituted with fluoro atoms. Specifically embraced

are monohaloalkyl, dihaloalkyl and polyhaloalkyl radicals. A monohaloalkyl radical, for one example, may have either a fluoro atom within the radical. Dihalo and polyhaloalkyl radicals may have two or more fluoro atoms. "Lower fluoroalkyl" embraces radicals having 1- 6 carbon atoms. Examples of fluoroalkyl radicals include fluoromethyl, difluoromethyl, trifluoromethyl, pentafluoroethyl, heptafluoropropyl, 1,1-difluoroethyl, and 1,1-difluoropropyl. The term "alkoxy" embraces linear or branched oxy-containing radicals each having alkyl portions of one to about ten carbon atoms. More preferred alkoxy radicals are "lower alkoxy" radicals having one to six carbon atoms. Examples of such radicals include methoxy, ethoxy, propoxy, butoxy and tert-butoxy. The term "aryl", alone or in combination, means a carbocyclic aromatic system containing one, two or three rings wherein such rings may be attached together in a pendent manner or may be fused. The term "aryl" embraces aromatic radicals such as phenyl, naphthyl, tetrahydronaphthyl, indane and biphenyl. Aryl moieties may also be substituted at a substitutable position with one or more substituents selected independently from alkyl, aralkyl, alkoxy, aryloxy, alkylthio, arylthio, acylamino, peptidyl, amino, halo, nitro, alkoxycarbonyl and aralkoxycarbonyl ^" . The terms "heterocyclyl" or "heterocyclic" embrace saturated, partially saturated and unsaturated heteroatom-containing ring-shaped radicals, where the heteroatoms may be selected from nitrogen, sulfur and oxygen. Examples of saturated heterocyclic radicals include saturated 5 to 7-membered heteromonocylic group containing 1 to 4 nitrogen atoms [e.g. pyrrolidinyl, imidazolidinyl, piperidinyl, piperazinyl, tropanyl, homotropanyl, etc.]; saturated 5 to 7-membered heteromonocyclic group containing 1 to 2 oxygen atoms and 1 to 3 nitrogen atoms [e.g. morpholinyl, etc.]; saturated 5 to 7-membered

heteromonocyclic group containing 1 to 2 sulfur atoms and 1 to 3 nitrogen atoms [e.g., thiazolidinyl, etc.]. Examples of partially saturated heterocyclic radicals include dihydrothiophene, dihydropyran, oxazolinyl, pyrrolinyl, dihydrofuran and dihydrothiazole. Examples of unsaturated heterocyclic radicals, also termed "heteroaryl" radicals include unsaturated 5 to 7 membered heteromonocyclic group containing 1 to 4 nitrogen atoms, for example, pyrrolyl, imidazolyl, pyrazolyl, pyridyl, pyrimidyl, azepinyl, pyrazinyl, pyridazinyl, triazolyl [e.g., 4H-1,2,4-triazolyl, 1H- 1,2,3-triazolyl, 2H-1,2,3-triazolyl, etc.] tetrazolyl [e.g. IH- etrazolyl, 2H-tetrazolyl, etc.], etc.; unsaturated heterocyclic group containing 1 to 5 nitrogen atoms, for example, indolyl, isoindolyl, indolizinyl, benzimidazolyl, quinolyl, isoquinolyl, indazolyl, benzotriazolyl, tetrazolopyridazinyl [e.g., tetrazolo[l, -b]pyridazinyl, etc.], etc.; unsaturated 3 to 6-membered heteromonocyclic group containing an oxygen atom, for example, furyl, etc.; unsaturated 5 to 7-membered heteromonocyclic group containing a sulfur atom, for example, thienyl, etc.; unsaturated 5 to 7- membered heteromonocyclic group containing 1 to 2 oxygen atoms and 1 to 3 nitrogen atoms, for example, oxazolyl, isoxazolyl, oxadiazolyl [e.g., 1,2,4- oxadiazolyl, 1,3, 4-oxadiazolyl, 1,2,5-oxadiazolyl, etc.] etc.; unsaturated condensed heterocyclic group containing 1 to 2 oxygen atoms and 1 to 3 nitrogen atoms [e.g. benzoxazolyl, benzoxadiazolyl, etc.]; unsaturated 5 to 7-membered heteromonocyclic group containing 1 to 2 sulfur atoms and 1 to 3 nitrogen atoms, for example, thiazolyl, thiadiazolyl [e.g., 1,2,4- thiadiazolyl, 1,3 ,4-thiadiazolyl, 1,2,5- thiadiazolyl, etc.] etc.; unsaturated condensed heterocyclic group containing 1 to 2 sulfur atoms and 1 to 3 nitrogen atoms [e.g., benzothiazolyl, benzothiadiazolyl, etc.] and the like. The term

heteroaryl also embraces radicals where heterocyclic radicals are fused with aryl radicals. Examples of such fused bicyclic radicals include benzofuryl, benzothienyl, and the like. Said "heterocyclyl" radicals may also be substituted at a substitutable position with one or more substituents selected independently from alkyl, aralkyl, alkoxy, aryloxy, alkylthio, arylthio, acylamino, peptidyl, amino, halo, nitro, alkoxycarbonyl and aralkoxycarbonyl. More preferred heteroaryl radicals include five to six membered heteroaryl radicals. The term "alkylthio" embraces radicals containing a linear or branched alkyl radical, of one to about ten carbon atoms attached to a divalent sulfur atom. More preferred alkylthio radicals are "lower alkylthio" radicals having alkyl radicals of one to six carbon atoms. Examples of such lower alkylthio radicals are methylthio, ethylthio, propylthio, butylthio and hexylthio. The term "arylthio" embraces radicals containing an aryl radical, of six to about ten carbon atoms attached to a divalent sulfur atom. Examples of such arylthio radicals are phenylthio, and naphthylthio. The term "aralkylthio" embraces radicals containing an aralkyl radical attached to a divalent sulfur atom. More preferred aralkylthio radicals are "lower aralkylthio" radicals having alkyl radicals of one to six carbon atoms. Examples of such lower aralkylthio radicals are benzylthio and phenylethylthio. The term "sulfonyl", whether used alone or linked to other terms such as alkylsulfonyl, denotes respectively divalent radicals -S0 ₂ -. "Alkylsulfonyl" embraces alkyl radicals attached to a sulfonyl radical, where alkyl is defined as above. More preferred alkylsulfonyl radicals are "lower alkylsulfonyl" radicals having one to six carbon atoms. Examples of such lower alkylsulfonyl radicals include methylsulfonyl, ethylsulfonyl and propylsulfonyl. The terms "sulfamyl", "aminosulfonyl" and "sulfonamidyl"

denotes NH ₂ O ₂ S-. The term "acyl" denotes a radical provided by the residue after removal of hydroxyl from an organic acid. Examples of such acyl radicals include formyl, alkanoyl and aroyl radicals. The alkanoyl radicals may be substituted or unsubstituted, such as formyl, acetyl, propionyl, butyryl, isobutyryl, valeryl, isovaleryl, pivaloyl, hexanoyl, trifluoroacetyl or the like, in which the preferable one is formyl, acetyl, propionyl or trifluoroacetyl. "Alkylsulfonyloxy" embraces alkylsulfonyl radicals attached to an oxygen atom, where alkylsulfonyl is defined above. More preferred alkylsulfonyloxy radicals are "lower alkylsulfonyloxy" radicals having one to six carbon atoms. Examples of such lower alkylsulfonyloxy radicals include methylsulfonyloxy, and ethylsulfonyloxy. The term "carbonyl", whether used alone or with other terms, such as "alkoxycarbonyl" , denotes -(C=0)-. The term "alkoxycarbonyl" means a radical containing an alkoxy radical, as defined above, attached via an oxygen atom to a carbonyl radical. Preferably, "lower alkoxycarbonyl" embraces alkoxy radicals having one to six carbon atoms. Examples of such "lower alkoxycarbonyl" ester radicals include substituted or unsubstituted methoxycarbonyl, ethoxycarbonyl, propoxycarbonyl, butoxycarbonyl and hexyloxycarbonyl. The term "alkoxycarbonyl" means a radical containing an alkoxy radical, as defined above, attached via an oxygen atom to a carbonyl radical. Preferably, "lower alkoxycarbonyl" embraces alkoxy radicals having one to six carbon atoms. Examples of such "lower alkoxycarbonyl" ester radicals include substituted or unsubstituted methoxycarbonyl, ethoxycarbonyl, propoxycarbonyl, butoxycarbonyl and hexyloxycarbonyl. The term "aralkyl" embraces aryl-substituted alkyl radicals. Preferable aralkyl radicals are "lower aralkyl" radicals having aryl radicals attached to

alkyl radicals having one to six carbon atoms. Examples of such radicals include benzyl, diphenylmethyl, triphenylmethyl, phenylethyl and diphenylethyl. The aryl in said aralkyl may be additionally substituted as described above. The terms benzyl and phenylmethyl are interchangeable. The term "aralkoxycarbonyl" means a radical containing an aralkoxy radical, as defined below, attached via an oxygen atom to a carbonyl radical. Preferably, "lower aralkoxycarbonyl" embraces alkoxy radicals having one to six carbon atoms. Examples of such "lower aralkoxycarbonyl" ester radicals include substituted or unsubstituted benzyloxycarbonyl. The term "haloalkylcarbonyl" embraces radicals having a haloalkyl radical as described above attached to a carbonyl radical. More preferred radicals are "lower haloalkylcarbonyl" radicals where lower haloalkyl radicals, as described above are attached to a carbonyl radical. The term "heterocyclylalkyl" embraces heterocyclyl-substituted alkyl radicals. More preferred heterocyclylalkyl radicals are "lower heterocyclylalkyl" radicals having five to ten membered heterocyclyl radicals attached to lower alkyl radicals having one to six carbon atoms. Examples of such radicals include oxazolylmethyl, oxazolylethyl, imidazolylmethyl, imidazolylethyl, oxazolinylmethyl, oxazolinylethyl, indolylethyl, indolylmethyl, pyridylmethyl, thienylmethyl, and furylethyl. The heteroaryl in said heteroaralkyl may be additionally substituted as described above. The term "aryloxy" embraces aryl radicals, as defined above, attached to an oxygen atom. The aryl in said aryloxy may be additionally substituted as described above. Examples of such radicals include phenoxy. The terms "aralkyloxy" and "aralkoxy" embrace oxy-containing aralkyl radicals attached through an oxygen atom to other radicals. More preferred aralkyloxy radicals are

"lower aralkoxy" radicals having phenyl radicals attached alkoxy radicals having one to six carbon atoms. Examples include benzyloxy and phenylethoxy. The "aralkoxy" radicals may be further substituted on the aryl ring portion of the radical. The term

"aryloxyalkyl" embraces alkyl radicals having one or more aryloxy radicals attached to the alkyl radical, that is, to form monoaryloxyalkyl and diaryloxyalkyl radicals. The more preferred aryloxyalkyl radicals are "lower aryloxyalkyl" radicals having aryloxy radicals attached to one to six carbon atoms. Examples include phenoxy ethyl and phenoxypropyl. The term "alkylamino" denotes amino groups which have been substituted with one or two alkyl radicals. More preferred alkylamino radicals are "lower alkylamino" having alkyl radicals of one to six carbon atoms attached to the nitrogen atom of an amine. Suitable "lower alkylamino" may be mono or dialkylamino such as N-methylamino, N- ethylamino, N,N-dimethylamino, N,N-diethylamino or the like. The term "arylamino" denotes amino groups which have been substituted with one or two aryl radicals, such as N-phenylamino. The "arylamino" radicals may be further substituted on the aryl ring portion of the radical. The term "aralkylammo" denotes amino groups which have been substituted with one or two aralkyl radicals, such as N-benzylamino. The "aralkylamino" radicals may be further substituted on the aryl ring portion of the radical. The term "acylamino" denotes amino groups which have been substituted, through the carbonyl carbon, with one or two acyl radicals.

Suitable "acylamino" may be mono or diacylamino such as N-formylamino, N-acetylamino, or the like. The term " (haloalkylcarbonyl)amino" denotes amino groups which have been substituted, through the carbonyl carbon, with one or two haloalkylcarbonyl radicals, as defined above. Suitable " (haloalkylcarbonyl)amino" may be mono(haloalkylcarbonyl)amino such as N-

trifluoromethylcarbonylamino, or the like. "Amino acid residue" means any of the naturally occurring alpha-, beta- and gamma-amino carboxylic acids, including their D and L optical isomers and racemic mixtures thereof, synthetic amino acids, and derivatives of these natural and synthetic amino acids. The amino acid residue is bonded either through an amino or an acid functional group of the amino acid. The naturally occurring amino acids which can be incorporated in the present invention include, but are not limited to, alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, glutamic acid, glutamine, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, ornithine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, cyclohexylalanine, tryptophan, tyrosine, valine, β-alanine, and γ- aminobutyric acid. Derivatives of amino acids which can be incorporated in the present invention include, but are not limited to amino acids having protected and modified carboxylic acids, including acid esters and amides, protected amines, and substituted phenyl rings, including but not limited to alkyl, alkoxy and halo substituted tyrosine and phenylalanine. The term "peptidyl" denotes a radical having two or three naturally occurring amino acids residues attached together through amide linkages. When the amino acid residue or peptidyl radical is attached from its N- amino terminus, such residues are noted as N-amino acid residue and N-peptidyl, respectively.

The present invention comprises a pharmaceutical composition comprising a therapeutically-effective amount of a compound of Formula I in association with at least one pharmaceutically-acceptable carrier, adjuvant or diluent.

The present invention also comprises a method of therapeutic and prophylactic treatment of a herpesvirus infection, in a subject, the method comprising administering to the subject having such herpes

infection a therapeutically-effective amount of a compound of Formula I.

Also included in the family of compounds of Formula I are the stereoisomers and tautomers thereof. Compounds of the present invention can possess one or more asymmetric carbon atoms and are thus capable of existing in the form of optical isomers as well as in the form of racemic or nonracemic mixtures thereof. Accordingly, some of the compounds of this invention may be present in racemic mixtures which are also included in this invention. The optical isomers can be obtained by resolution of the racemic mixtures according to conventional processes, for example by formation of diastereoisomeric salts by treatment with an optically active acid or base. Examples of appropriate acids are tartaric, diacetyltartaric, dibenzoyltartaric, ditoluoyltartaric and camphorsulfonic acid and then separation of the mixture of diastereoisomers by crystallization followed by liberation of the optically active bases from these salts. A different process for separation of optical isomers involves the use of a chiral chromatography column optimally chosen to maximize the separation of the enantiomers. Still another available method involves synthesis of covalent diastereoisomeric molecules by reacting an amine functionality of precursors to compounds of Formula ^" I with an optically pure acid in an activated form or an optically pure isocyanate. Alternatively, diastereomeric derivatives can be prepared by reacting a carboxyl functionality of precursors to compounds of Formula I with an optically pure amine base. The synthesized diastereoisomers can be separated by conventional means such as chromatography, distillation, crystallization or sublimation, and then hydrolyzed to deliver the enantio erically pure compound. The optically active compounds of Formula I can likewise be obtained by

utilizing optically active starting materials. These isomers may be in the form of a free acid, a free base, an ester or a salt.

Also included in the family of compounds of Formula I are the pharmaceutically-acceptable salts thereof. The term "pharmaceutically-acceptable salts" embraces salts commonly used to form alkali metal salts and to form addition salts of free acids or free bases. The nature of the salt is not critical, provided that it is pharmaceutically-acceptable. Suitable pharmaceutically-acceptable acid addition salts of compounds of Formula I may be prepared from an inorganic acid or from an organic acid. Examples of such inorganic acids are hydrochloric, hydrobromic, hydroiodic, nitric, carbonic, sulfuric and phosphoric acid. Appropriate organic acids may be selected from aliphatic, cycloaliphatic, aromatic, araliphatic, heterocyclic, carboxylic and sulfonic classes of organic acids, example of which are formic, acetic, propionic, succinic, glycolic, gluconic, lactic, malic, tartaric, citric, ascorbic, glucuronic, maleic, fumaric, pyruvic, aspartic, glutamic, benzoic, anthranilic, mesylic, p-hydroxybenzoic, phenylacetic, mandelic, embonic (pamoic) , methanesulfonic, ethylsulfonic, benzenesulfonic, pantothenic, toluenesulfonic, 2-hydroxyethanesulfonic, sulfanilic, stearic, cyclohexylaminosulfonic, algenic, β- hydroxybutyric, salicylic, galactaric and galacturonic acid. Suitable pharmaceutically-acceptable base addition salts of compounds of Formula I include metallic salts made from aluminum, calcium, lithium, magnesium, potassium, sodium and zinc or organic salts made from N.N' -dibenzylethylenediamine, choline, chloroprocaine, diethanolamine, ethylenediamine, meglumine (N-methylglucamine) and procaine. All of these salts may be prepared by conventional means from the corresponding compound of Formula I by reacting,

for example , the appropriate acid or base with the compound of Formula I .

GENERAL SYNTHETIC PROCEDURES

The compounds of the invention can be synthesized from commercially available starting materials, according to the following procedures of Schemes I-IX, wherein the R!-R9 substituents are as defined for Formulas I-II, above, except where further noted.

Scheme I

Oxidation

1

The antiviral agents of this invention can be prepared following the method shown in Scheme I. The antiviral agents 2 are obtained by oxidation of the corresponding alcohol 1, such as by treatment with periodinane (Dess Martin Reagent) [D. Dess and J. Martin, J. Amer. Chem. Soc , 113, 7277 (1991)], or with a modified Pfitzner- Moffatt reagent (DMSO/DCC) (A. Doherty, et al., J. Med . Chem. , 35, 2 (1992) ] .

Scheme II

5

mild base or esterasej

1

The alcohol 1 can be obtained as outlined in Scheme II. The ortho nitroarylcarbinol 3 can be reduced to the corresponding aniline derivative 4 by catalytic hydrogena ion, such as by using palladium on carbon [Rylander, Hydrogenation Methods, Chap. 8, (1985)] or alternative methods (stannous chloride reduction or with the anionic hydride [HFe(CO)4]-] . See P. Gaus et al. , Tetrahedron Letters, 29, 5083 (1988). The aniline carbinol derivative 4 can be diacylated with the appropriate acid chloride in high yield. The resulting ester amide 5 can be selectively cleaved at the ester moiety such as by (1) mild base treatment (e.g. hydroxide ion) which affords the alcohol 1, or by (2) an appropriate esterase.

Scheme III

The ortho-nitroarylcarbinol 7 can be obtained, when Y = CF3 (p=0) , by treatment of the corresponding aldehyde 6 with trifluoromethyltrimethylsilane (CF3- TMS) and catalytic tetrabutyl ammonium fluoride (TBAF) [Olah et al., J. Amer. Chem. Soc , 111, 393 (1989)]. Alternatively, homologous perfluoroalkyl anions (p = 1- 3), may be generated by using the appropriate fluoroiodoalkane and an organolithium under transmetaling conditions [J. Begue and D. Delpon, Tetrahedron, 47, 3207 (1991)].

Scheme IV

Amination

The ortho-nitroarylcarbinol 9 can be obtained, when Y is a difluoroacetamido group, as outlined in Scheme IV. The corresponding aldehyde 6 can be reacted with a Reformatsky reagent prepared from an α-bromo-α,α- difluoroacetylester [Fried et al. , J. Amer. Chem . Soc , 114, 8464 (1992); Thaisrivongs et al. , J. Med. Chem. , 29, 2080 (1986)] to form ester 8. The ester 8 can be reacted directly with primary amines [H2NR ⁷ ] to afford secondary amides 9 by heating in an appropriate solvent, such as DMF or THF.

Scheme V

Alternatively, the ester 8 can be cleaved to the free acid 10 and coupled to a primary amine, such as H2NR ⁷ , amino acid residue or a peptide, using standard amino acid coupling conditions, for example DSC, DCC, EDC, or BOP, to form compound 9. See Bodansky, Principles of Peptide Synthesis , 1984.

Scheme VI

13

mild base or esterase

An alternative sequence starts with a commercially available anthranilic acid 11 as outlined in Scheme VI. The carboxylic acid 11 is reduced to the benzyl alcohol 12, such as with borane/THF reagent [Brown and Korytnyk, J. Amer. Chem. Soc , 82, 3866 (I960)]. The benzyl alcohol 12 is diacylated to afford 13. Subsequent selective ester cleavage [see Scheme II] gives the alcohol 14. The alcohol 14 can be oxidized to the aldehyde 15 by known methods (e.g. Swern oxidation - oxalyl chloride, DMSO, triethylamine; or sulfur trioxide/pyridine) . The aldehyde 15 can be reacted with nucleophiles (as shown in Scheme III or Scheme IV) to afford carbinol 1.

Scheme VII

Several specific examples of antiviral agents obtained through the application of Schemes l-VI are illustrated in Schemes VII-IX. The antiviral agent compound 21 (Example 1) is obtained in five steps starting from ortho nitrobenzaldehyde 16 as shown in Scheme VII. The aldehyde 16 is reacted with TF3-TMS/TBAF to afford carbinol 17. Reduction of the nitro group gives the aniline 18. Bis- acylation of the anilinocarbinol derivative 18 is accomplished by treatment with two equivalents of 2-furoyl chloride to afford ester 19. The ester 19 is cleaved selectively over the amide by treatment with one equivalent of sodium hydroxide at room temperature to afford compound 20. The carbinol 20 is oxidized by treatment with periodinane to afford compound 21.

Scheme VIII

The antiviral agent compound 27 (Example 17) is obtained in six steps from ortho nitrobenzaldehyde 16 as outlined in Scheme VIII. In the first step, carbinol 22 is obtained through a Reformatsky reaction using ethyl bromodifluoroacetate and zinc. In the second step, a idolysis of the ethyl ester of 22 is accomplished by heating compound 22 in the presence of excess isopropylamine in THF to afford compound 23. The ortho- nitro group of compound 23 is reduced by hydrogenation to give the aniline 24. Diacylation of 24 with o-anisolyl chloride affords compound 25. The ester of compound 25 is selectively cleaved by treatment with one equivalent of sodium hydroxide to afford carbinol 26 which is oxidized by periodinane (Dess-Martin reagent) treatment to afford compound 27.

Scheme IX

CF ₃ -TMS/TBAF

The antiviral agent compound 34 (Example 2) is obtained in six steps from 4-fluoro-2-aminobenzoic acid 28 as outlined in Scheme IX. In the first step, the benzoic acid 28 is reduced to the benzyl alcohol 29 by treatment with borane-THF. Compound 29 is diacylated with hydrocinnamoyl chloride to afford ester 30 which is selectively cleaved at the ester by treatment with one equivalent of sodium hydroxide at room temperature to afford compound 31. The benzyl alcohol of 31 is converted to the benzaldehyde 32 by Swern oxidation. Treatment of 32 with TF ₃ -TMS/TBAF affords carbinol 33.

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CH ₂ C1-, - methylene chloride h - hour min - minutes

THF - tetrahydrofuran

IR - infrared

MS - mass spectrum

Example 1

N- [2- (2,2, 2-Trifluoro-1-oxoethyl)phenyl] furan-

2-carboxamide

Step 1: Preparation of 1.1-trifluoro-2-hvdroxv-2- (2- nit.rophenvl)ethane

To a mixture of 2-nitrobenzaldehyde (4.25 g, 28.12 mmol) and tetrahydrofuran (75 mL) under argon at 0 °C was added trifluoromethylsilane (5.00 L) , followed by tetrabutylammonium fluoride (1M solution in THF, 75 mL) , and the reaction was warmed to 23 °C.

After 2 h at 23 °C, the reaction was treated with 3N

HCl (125 mL) . After 4 h, the reaction was diluted with ether (75 mL) , washed with brine (2 x 100 mL) , and dried (MgSO^) . Concentration in vacuo afforded a brown oil (5.45 g, 87.6%) which was taken on to the next step without further purification: ^ NMR (CDC1 ₃ ) δ

6.18 (q, J = 6 Hz), 7.56 (dd, J = 6 Hz, 6 Hz), 7.75

(dd, J = 6 Hz, 6 Hz), 7.97 (d, J = 6 Hz), 8.05 (d, J = 6 Hz); ¹³ C NMR {CDCI3) 66.6 (q, J = 33 Hz), 121.9,

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concentrated in vacuo . To a solution of the residue and ethanol (3 mL) was added NaOH (1.5 N, 3 mL) at 23 °C under argon. After 2 h at 23 °C, the reaction was concentrated in vacuo, diluted with ether (150 mL) , washed with brine (100 mL) and dried (MgSO ) . After concentration in vacuo, the residue was purified by flash chromatography (ethyl acetate-.hexane 1:3) to afford N-[2-(2,2,2-trifluoro-1-hydroxyethyl) phenyl] furan-2-carboxainide (717 mg, 80%) as an oil: ¹ H NMR (CDC1 ₃ ) δ 5.14 (q, J = 6 Hz), 6.55 (m) , 7.16-7.58

(m) , 8.25 (m) ; ¹³ C NMR (CDCI3) 72.7 (q, J = 33 Hz),

112.2, 115.0, 122.7,123.1, 126.5 (q, J = 280 Hz),

129.7, 136.8, 144.7, 149.5, 169.6. MS (El) 285 (M ⁺ ) ,

245, 216. IR (neat) 3500-3000, 1650 cm ^"1 . Anal. Calc'd. for C ₁₃ H ₁₀ NO ₃ F ₃ : C, 54.74; H, 3.53; N, 4.91. Found: C,

54.63; H, 3.50; N, 4.90.

Step 4: Preparation of N- .2- (2.2.2-trifluoro-1- oxoethvl)phenvl1furan-2-carboxamide To a solution of N- [2-(2,2,2-trifluoro-1- hydroxyethyl)phenyl]furan-2-carboxamide from Step 3

(336 mg, 1.18 mmol) and methylene chloride (31 mL) was added 1,1,1-triacetoxy-l,1-dihydro-l,2-benziodoxyl-

3(lH)-one ( 2.00 g, 4.72 mmol), followed by tert- butanol (3.1 L) under an argon atmosphere at 23 °C.

After 18 h, sat'd NaHC0 ₃ (31 mL) was added followed by solid sodium thiosulfate (5.20 g, 32.9 mmol). After 1 h at 23 °C, the organic layer was separated from the aqueous. The aqueous layer was extracted with ether (2 x 100 mL) , and the combined organics were washed with sat'd NaHC0 ₃ :sat'd Na ₂ S ₂ 0 ₃ (3x 80 mL) and brine (1 x

80 mL) , and dried (MgS0 ₄ ) . After concentration in vacuo, the crude residue was purified by flash chromatography (ethyl acetate:hexane 1:3) which afforded (312 mg) as a yellow gum: 1H NMR (CDC1 ₃ ) δ

6.60 (m) , 7.20-7.35 ( ) , 7.67 (br s) , 7.75 (m) , 8.03 (m) , 9.01 (d, J = 6 Hz), 11.93 (brs) ; ¹³ C NMR {CDCI3)

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Hz), 103.4 (J = 21 Hz), 121.5, 130.1 (J=10 Hz), 149.1, 163 (J= 360 Hz). MS (El) 141 (M ⁺ ), 124, 110. IR (neat) 3500-3000 cm ^-1 .

Step 2: Preparation of N-f5-fluoro-2- hvdroxvmethvlphenvl1benzenepropanamide

To a solution of 2-amino-4-fluorobenzyl alcohol from Step 1 (2.00 g, 14.17 mmol) and methylene chloride (45 mL) , was added N,N, -diisopropylethylamine (3.70 g, 28.34 mmol) followed by hydrocinnamoyl chloride (4.78 g, 28.34 mmol) dropwise over 15 min under an argon atmosphere at 23 °C. After 16 h, the reaction was diluted with methylene chloride (100 mL) , washed with KHS0 ₄ (1 N, 1x80 mL) , sat'd NaHC0 ₃ ( lx 80 mL) , brine (1 x 80 mL) and dried (MgS0 ₄ ) . After concentration in vacuo, the crude residue was dissolved in methanol (14 L) and NaOH (1.5 N, 14 L) was added at 23 °C under argon. After 2 h at 23 °C, the reaction was concentrated in vacuo, diluted with ether (150 L) , washed with brine (100 mL) , and dried (MgS0 ₄ ) . After concentration in vacuo, the residue was purified by flash chromatography (ethyl acetate:hexane

1:3) to afford N-[5-fluoro-2- hydroxymethylphenyl]benzenepropanamide (3.40 g, 87.8%) as an oil: ^X H NMR (CDC1 ₃ ) δ 2.65 (t, J = 7 Hz), 3.05

(t, J = 7 Hz), 4.48 (s), 6.68-6.74 (m) , 7.00-7.34 (m) ,

7.83-7.91 (m) 8.72 (br s) . MS (El) 273, 255, 212. IR

(neat) 3500-3150, 1667 cm ^-1 . Anal. Calc'd. for C ₁₆ H ₁₆ N0 ₂ F: C, 70.31; H, 5.90; N, 5.13. Found: C, 70.26; H, 6.11; N, 5.03.

Step 3: Preparation of N-f5-fluoro-2- oxomethyIphenyl^ ^en z ^en epropa ⁿ aπύde

To a solution of oxalyl chloride (4.46 g, 35.13 mmol) and methylene chloride (300 mL) at -78 °C was added dimethyl sulfoxide (3.29 g, 42.15 mmol) over 15 min. After 15 min at -78 °C, a solution of N-[5-

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To a solution of N- [5-fluoro-2- (2, 2, 2-trifluoro-

1-hydroxyethyl)phenyl]benzenepropanamide from Step 4

(178 mg, 0.521 mmol) and methylene chloride (15 mL) was added 1, 1, 1-triacetoxy-l, 1-dihydro-l, 2- benziodoxyl-3 (IH) -one (885 mg, 2.08 mmol) followed by tert-butanol (15 mL) under an argon atmosphere at 23 °C. After 18 h, sat'd NaHC0 ₃ (31 L) was added followed by solid sodium thiosulfate (5.20 g, 32.9 mmol) . After 1 h at 23 °C, the organic layer was separated from the aqueous. The aqueous was extracted with ether (2 x 100 mL) , and the combined organics were washed with sat'd NaHC0 ₃ :sat'd a ₂ S ₂ 0 ₃ (3x 80 mL) , brine (1 x 80 mL) , and dried (MgS0 ₄ ) . After concentration in vacuo, the crude residue was purified by flash chromatography (ethyl acetate:hexane 1:3) which afforded N- [5-fluoro-2- (2, 2, 2-trifluoro-1- oxoethyl)phenyl]benzenepropanamide (80 mg) as a yellow gum: -H NMR (CDCI3) δ 2.78 (t, J= 7 Hz), 3.07 (t, J= 7

Hz), 6.82-6.91 (m) , 7.17-7.33 (m) , 7.92-8.03 (m) , 8.67-8.73 ( ) , 11.11 (br s) ; ¹³ C NMR (CDC1 ₃ ) δ 31.0,

40.2, 108.2 (d, J = 27.8 Hz), 110.45 (d, J=22.5 Hz),

111.6, 116.4 (q, J= 290 Hz), 126.4, 128.2, 128.5,

134.5 (d, J= 5 Hz) , 139.9, 139.9, 146.2 (d, J= 14 Hz),

167.9 (d, J= 258 Hz), 171.6,181.9. MS (El) 339 (M ⁺ ) , 320, 270, 207. IR (neat) 1712, 1677 cm ^"1 . Anal. Calc'd. for C ₁₇ H ₁₃ N0 ₂ F ₄ : C, 60.18; H, 3.86; N, 4.13. Found: C,

59 .82 ; H, 4 . 08 ; N, 3 . 94 .

Example 3

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8.84 (d, J= 7 Hz); ¹³ C NMR (CDCI3) δ 31.2, 40.2, 115.1,

117.1 (q, J= 290 Hz), 121.2, 122.6, 126.3, 128.2,

128.5, 131.6, 131.7, 137.6, 140.1, 143.3, 171.4, 181.4

(q, J= 63 Hz) . MS (El) 321 (M ⁺ ) , 252, 189. IR (neat) 3346, 1682 cm ^"1 . Anal. Calc'd. for C ₁₇ H ₁₃ N0 ₂ F ₃ C1: C,

63.55; H, 4.39; N, 4.36. Found: C, 63.36; H, 4.34; N, 4.16.

Example 5

N- [2- (2,2,2-Trifluoro-l- oxoethyl ) henyl ] pyrazine- 2 -carboxamide

The title compound was prepared in the manner of

Example 1, substituting pyrazine- 2 -carbonyl chloride for furoyl chloride in Step 3. Purification by flash chromatography afforded the title compound as an oil: 1H NMR (CDC1 ₃ ) δ 7.30 (td, J= 8, 1 Hz), 7.80 (td, J =

8, 1 Hz), 8.06 (dp, J = 8,1 Hz), 8.77 (dd, J= 2,1 Hz),

8.85 (d, J = 2 Hz), 9.07 (dd, J= 8 ^* 1 Hz), 9.51 (d, J = 1 Hz); ¹³ C NMR (CDCI3) δ 116.4, 116.4 (q, J= 290 Hz),

121.5, 123.4, 131.9, 137.4, 142.1, 142.9, 144.4, 144.8, 147.7, 162.4. MS (El) 295 (M ⁺ ) , 226, 198. IR (neat) 3244, 1689 cm ^"1 .

Example 6

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The title compound was prepared in the manner of

Example 2, substituting 2-amino-4-nitrobenzoic acid for 2-amino-4-fluorobenzoic acid in Step 1.

Purification by flash chromatography afforded the title compound as an oil: ^H NMR (4:1 mixture of tautomers, CDC1 ₃ ) δ 2.64 (t, J= 7 Hz) , 2.73 (t, J= 7

Hz), 2.94 (t, J= 7 Hz), 3.07 (t, J= 7 Hz), 6.50 (br s), 7.14-7.33 ( ) , 7.71-8.14 (m) , 9.14 (br d, J = 1

Hz), 9.56 (br d, J= 1 Hz), 10.72 (br s) ; ¹³ C NMR (CDCI3) δ 31.8 (minor), 32.0 (major), 40.5 (minor),

41.0 (major), 117.0, 117.2,117.5 (q, j= 290 Hz),

117.7, 117.8, 127.4, 129.1, 129.2, 129.5, 129.6,

131.4, 132.7, 133.6, 139.2, 140.7, 144.6, 149.8,

153.0, 172.9, 183.8 (q, J= 63 Hz) .

Example 8

N- [ -Fluoro -2- (2 , 2 , 2-trif luoro-1- oxoethyl ) henyl] furan-2 -carboxamide

The title compound was prepared in the manner of

Example 2 substituting 2-furoyl chloride for hydrocinnamoyl chloride in Step 2. The crude residue was purified by flash chromatography (ethyl acetate -.hexane 1:3) to afford the title compound: ¹ H NMR (CDC1 ₃ ) δ 6.61 (dd, J= 3,2 Hz), 6.93 (ddd,

J=9, 8,2.5 Hz) , 7.34 (dd, J = 3,1 Hz) , 7.66 (dd, J = 2,1 Hz), 8.06 (ddq, J = 8, 7, 2), 8.82 (dd, J = 12.5, 2.5), 12.17 (br s) ; ¹³ C NMR (CDCI3) δ 108.4 (d, J =

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α,α, α-Trif luoro-N- [2- (2, 2, 2-trif luoro- 1- oxoethyl )phenyl] acetamide

The title compound was prepared in the manner of

Example 1, substituting trifluoroacetic anhydride for furoyl chloride in Step 3 and K ₂ CO ₃ for IN NaOH in Step

3. Purification by flash chromatography afforded the title compound as an oil: ^X H NMR (CDC1 ₃ ) δ 7.34-7.44 (m) , 7.76-7.83 (m) , 8.05-8.12 ( ) , 8.76 (d) .

Example 11

N- [2- (2,2, 2-Trifluoro-l- oxoethyl) phenyl] pyridine -2 -carboxamide

The title compound was prepared in the manner of Example 1, substituting picolinoyl -chloride for furoyl chloride in Step 3. Purification by flash chromatography afforded the title compound as an oil: Anal. Calc'd. for C H ₉ N ₂ 0 ₂ F ₃ . C, 57.15; H, 3.08; N,

9.52. Found: C, 56.53; H, 2.93; N, 9.34.

Example 12

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Purification by flash chromatography afforded the title compound as an oil.

Example 14

N- [2- (2,2, 2 -Trif luoro -1 -oxoethyl) phenyl] - chlorophenoxyacet amide

The title compound was prepared in the manner of

Example 1, substituting 4-chlorophenoxyacetyl chloride for furoyl chloride in Step 3. Purification by flash chromatography afforded the title compound as a beige solid: mp 134-135 °C . MS (El) 357 (M+), 288, 230, 202. Anal. Calc'd. f or C ₁₆ H _1:] _C1F ₃ N0 ₃ : C, 53.72; H, 3.10; N,

3.92. Found: C, 53.80; H, 3.14; N, 3.77.

Example 15

N- [2- (2, 2, 2-Trif luoro-1- oxoethyl ) phenyl ] indolyl -2 -carboxamide

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benzofurancarboxylic acid for the indole-2-carboxylic acid. Purification of the title compound by flash chromatography afforded a yellow solid: mp 130-132 °C. MS (El) 333 (M+), 264, 145. Anal. Calc'd. for C ₁₇ H _1Q F ₃ N0 ₃ : C, 61.27; H, 3.02; N, 4.20. Found: C,

60.94; H, 2.76; N, 4.11.

Example 17

N- [2- (3- (2-Propylamino) -3-oxo-2, 2-difluoro-1- oxopropyl)phenyl]2-methoxyphenylcarboxamide

Step 1: Preparation of 2- (3-ethoxv-3-oxo-2.2-difluoro- 1-hydroxypropyl,)πitχ-Qfrenzene

To a slurry of activated zinc (6.25 g, 99.2 mmol) in 75 L anhydrous THF, was added ethyl bromodifluoroacetate (11.0 mL, 85.8 mmol) and the mixture was heated to reflux. After a visible reaction had occurred, 2-nitrobenzaldehyde (5.0 g, 33.1 mmol) in 30 mL anhydrous THF, was added dropwise to maintain reflux. After 3 h, the solution was cooled to 23 °C, diluted with EtOAc (50 mL) , washed with 1M KHΞ0 ₄ (2 x 50 mL) and brine (1 x 50 mL) , and dried ( a ₂ S0 ₄ ) .

Concentration in vacuo yielded a residue which was purified by flash chromatography (chloroform:EtOH, 99:1) to afford 2- (3-ethoxy-3-oxo-2,2-di luoro-1- hydroxypropyl)nitrobenzene (8.28g, 91%) as an orange oil, which was taken on to the next step without further characterization.

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diluted with EtOAc (20 mL) , washed with H ₂ 0 (2 x 10 L) and brine (1 x 10 mL) and dried (MgS0 ₄ ) . After concentration in vacuo, the residue was purified by flash chromatography (EtOAc:hexane 2:8) to afford N- [2- (3- (2-propylammo) -3-oxo-2,2-difluoro-l- hydroxypropyl)phenyl] -2-methoxyphenylcarboxamide (475 mg, 40%) as a pink oil: MS (El) 392 (M+) , 372, 257. Anal. Calc'd. for C ₂ QH ₂₂ F ₂ N ₂ 0 ₄ plus 0.1 mol H ₂ 0: C,

60.94; H, 5.68; N, 7.11. Found: C, 60.90; H, 5.78; N, 6.78.

Step 5: Preparation of N- f2- f - (2-proPvlamino) -3-oxo-

2.2-difluoro-1-oxopropvl) henvl12- methoxyphenylcarboxamide To a solution of N- [2- (3- (2-propylammo) -3-oxo-

2, 2-difluoro-l-hydroxypropyl)phenyl] -2- methoxyphenylcarboxamide of Step 4 (200 mg, 0.51 mmol) , CH ₂ C1 ₂ (5 mL) and tert-butanol (5 mL) , was added 1,1, 1-triacetoxy-l, 1-dihydro-l,2-benziodoxyl- 3(lH)-one (1.5 g, 3.54 mmol) under argon at 23 °C.

After 18 h, sat. NaHC0 ₃ (10 mL) was added followed by solid Na ₂ S ₂ 0 ₃ (1.0 g, 6.3 mmol) . After 2 h of vigorous stirring at 23 °C, the organic layer was separated, washed with sat. NaHC0 ₃ (2 x 10 mL) , sat. Na ₂ S ₂ θ3 (2 x 10 mL) , and brine (1 x 10 mL) and dried (MgS0 ₄ ) . Upon concentration in vacuo and trituration with ethyl ether, the title compound was afforded (100 mg) as a yellow solid : mp 131.5-132 °C. ^X H NMR (CDCI3) δ 1.27

(d) , 4.13 (s,), 4.13 - 4.20 (m) , 6.32 (br d) , 7.04 ( ) , 7.10 (m) , 7.19 (m) , 7.51 (m) 7.67 (m) , 8.11 (m) ,

8.22 (m) , 8.90 (m) , 12.01 (br s) . MS (El) 390 (M+) , 254, 135. Anal. Calc'd. for C ₂₀ H ₂₀ F ₂ N ₂ O ₄ plus 0.25 mol

H ₂ 0: C, 60.83; H, 5.23; N, 7.09. Found: C, 60.75; H,

5.00; N, 6.95.

BIOLOGICAL EVALUATION

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HCMV protease was purified from E. coli expressing a DNA construction encoding the protease domain of the UL80 open reading frame of human cytomegalovirus strain AD169. The construction also encoded six additional histidine residues at the amino terminus of the protease. These additional histidine residues provided an affinity ligand by which it was purified using nickel-nitriloacetic acid- agarose (Qiagen) .

The purified protease was stored as a 1-3 mg/ l stock solution in 20 M HEPES buffer, pH 7.4; containing 20%

(v/v) glycerol. This stock was diluted with assay buffer to 4.8 μg/ml. A 100 μL aliquot of this solution was used in the enzyme reaction.

A specific substrate was synthesized based on the cleavage specificity of HCMV protease at the "maturation site" of the assembly protein (F. Liu and B. Roizman, J. Virol . , 65, 5149 (1991), and A. Welch, et al, J. Virol . , 65, 4091 (1991) ) . The assembly protein maturation site has the sequence ... GWNA*SCRLATA... ; the substrate used was succinyl-AGWNA-PNA (SEQID.l) which was prepared by standard peptide synthetic methods such as that described in Bodansky and Bodansky, "The Practice of Peptide Synthesis" (1984), and was stored as a stock solution at 20 mM in dimethyl sulfoxide. This was diluted 10-fold with assay buffer to give a concentration of 2 mM just before use. An aliquot of 50 μL was used in the reaction An assay Buffer (10 mM sodium phosphate buffer, pH 7.4; 150 mM sodium acetate; 0.1% CHAPS; and 20% (v/v) glycerol) was used to dilute stock solutions of enzyme and substrate.

Antiviral Assays

These complimentary assays tested the ability of a compound to inhibit the production of new virus and the toxicity of the compound to the host cells. It was important that both assays be performed simultaneously in

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plate. Additionally, uninfected cells not treated with test compound were included as controls on the antiviral plate. Plates were incubated for 96 hours at 37°C in 5% CO ₂ atmosphere and processed to measure the amount of viral antigen and toxicity. Results are included in Table 1.

Enzyme Linked ImmunoSorbant Assay (ELISA) for HCMV Antigens:

The following was performed on the antiviral plate only. Media was removed and cells were fixed with 1:1 acetone:methanol for 15 minutes at -20°C. Fixative was removed and cells were washed once with PBS containing 0.05% Tween20. In order to block nonspecific binding of antibodies, each well was incubated with PBS containing 3% (w/v) bovine serum albumin (BSA) for 1 hour at 22°C. The blocking solution was removed and the cells were washed once with PBS containing 0.05% Tween20 before incubating with 1:100 dilution of primary antibody in PBS containing 3% BSA for 2 hours at 22°C. The primary antibody was a monoclonal antibody (mouse source) specific to the immediate early nuclear antigen of HCMV and was commercially available (Dupont) . The 1° antibody solution was removed and the plate was rinsed 5 times with PBS containing 1% (v/v) Triton X-100 (PBST) before incubating with secondary antibody diluted 1:1000 in PBS containing 3% BSA for 2 hours at 22°C. The secondary antibody (goat source) recognized the murine-specific determinants of the 1° antibody and was covalently linked to horseradish peroxidase (Sigma) . The plate was rinsed 5 times with PBST and once with deionized water before adding 100 μl TMB substrate solution and incubating 30 minutes at 22°C. The reaction was stopped by adding 100 μL of phosphoric acid and the OD at 450 nm recorded. TMB (3,3 ',5,5' tetramethylbenzidine) was the substrate for the horseradish peroxidase linked to the 2° antibody. It was

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Chymotrypsin Assay

The chymotrypsin assay was modified from the method of Del ar et al [Anal . Biochem. , 99, 316-320 (1979)]. Bovine pancreas α-chymotrypsin (type II, Sigma) was dissolved in 0.001 N HCl at 1 mg/ml and further diluted 1/600 in assay buffer (0.1 M Tris, pH 7.8, containing 0.1 M CaCl ₂ ) before use. 20 μl of test compound in DMSO (or DMSO alone) , 100 μl of assay buffer and 30 μl of enzyme were added to 96 well plates, mixed and pre-incubated for 30 minutes at ambient temperature. Reaction was initiated by addition of 50 μl of 0.2 mM N-succinyl-Ala-Ala-Pro-Phe- p-nitroanilide (Sigma; 2 mM in DMSO diluted 1/10 in assay buffer before use) . The increase in absorbance at 405 n was monitored for 10 minutes with a Biotek EL340 plate reader. Results are included in Table 1.

Human Leukocyte Elastase Assay

Human leukocyte elastase (HLE) (gift of R. Senior,

Washington University) was dissolved in saline at 1 mg/ml and further diluted 1/20 in assay buffer (0.2 M Tris, pH 8.0) before use. 10 μl of test compound in DMSO (or DMSO alone) , 100 μl of assay bu fer and 50 μl of enzyme were added to 96 well plates, mixed and pre-incubated for 30 minutes at ambient temperature. Reaction was initiated by addition of 40 μl of 2.5 mM methoxysuccinyl-Ala-Ala-Pro- Val-p-nitroanilide (Sigma; 25 mM in DMSO diluted 1/10 in assay buffer before use) . The increase in absorbance at 405 nm was monitored for 10 minutes with a Biotek EL340 plate reader. Results are shown in Table 1.

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ingredient. Examples of such dosage units are tablets or capsules. The active ingredient may also be administered by injection as a composition wherein, for example, saline, dextrose or water may be used as a suitable carrier.

The amount of therapeutically active compound that is administered and the dosage regimen for treating a disease condition with the compounds and/or compositions of this invention depends on a variety of factors, including the age, weight, sex and medical condition of the subject, the severity of the disease, the route and frequency of administration, and the particular compound employed, and thus may vary widely. The pharmaceutical compositions may contain active ingredient in the range of about 0.1 to 2000 mg, preferably in the range of about 0.5 to 500 mg and most preferably between about 1 and 100 mg. A daily dose of about 0.01 to 100 mg/kg body weight, preferably between about 0.1 and about 50 mg/kg body weight and most preferably between about 1 to 20 mg/kg body weight, may be appropriate. The daily dose can be administered in one to four doses per day.

For therapeutic purposes, the compounds of this invention are ordinarily combined with one or more adjuvants appropriate to the indicated route of administration. If administered per os. the compounds may be admixed with lactose, sucrose, starch powder, cellulose esters of alkanoic acids, cellulose alkyl esters, talc, stearic acid, magnesium stearate, magnesium oxide, sodium and calcium salts of phosphoric and sulfuric acids, gelatin, acacia gum, sodium alginate, polyvinylpyrrolidone, and/or polyvinyl alcohol, and then tableted or encapsulated for convenient administration. Such capsules or tablets may contain a controlled-release formulation as may be provided in a dispersion of active compound in hydroxypropylmethyl cellulose. Formulations for parenteral administration may be in the form of aqueous or non-aqueous isotonic sterile injection

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active agent is absorbed through the skin, a controlled and predetermined flow of the active agent is administered to the recipient. In the case of microcapsules, the encapsulating agent may also function as the membrane.

The oily phase of the emulsions of this invention may be constituted from known ingredients in a known manner. While the phase may comprise merely an emulsifier, it may comprise a mixture of at least one emulsifier with a fat or an oil or with both a fat and an oil. Preferably, a hydrophilic emulsifier is included together with a lipophilic emulsifier which acts as a stabilizer. It is also preferred to include both an oil and a fat. Together, the emulsifier(s) with or without stabilizer(s) make-up the so-called emulsifying wax, and the wax together with the oil and fat make up the so-called emulsifying ointment base which forms the oily dispersed phase of the cream formulations. Emulsifiers and emulsion stabilizers suitable for use in the formulation of the present invention include Tween 60, Span 80, cetostearyl alcohol, myristyl alcohol, glyceryl monostearate, and sodium lauryl sulfate, among others

The choice of suitable oils or fats for the formulation is based on achieving the desired cosmetic properties, since the solubility of the active compound in most oils likely to be used in pharmaceutical emulsion formulations is very low. Thus, the cream should preferably be a non-greasy, non-staining and washable product with suitable consistency to avoid leakage from tubes or other containers. Straight or branched chain, mono- or dibasic alkyl esters such as di-isoadipate, isocetyl stearate, propylene glycol diester of coconut fatty acids, isopropyl myristate, decyl oleate, isopropyl palmitate, butyl stearate, 2-ethylhexyl pal itate or a blend of branched chain esters may be used. These may be used alone or in combination depending on the properties required. Alternatively, high melting point lipids such as

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