High concentration electrophysiology-based fragment screen: Discovery of novel acid-sensing ion channel 3 (ASIC3) inhibitors

The Merck Fragment Library was screened versus acid-sensing ion channel 3 (ASIC3), a novel target for the treatment of pain. Fragment hits were optimized using two strategies, and potency was improved from 0.7 mM to 3 μM with retention of good ligand efficiency and incorporation of reasonable physical properties, off-target profile, and rat pharmacokinetics.

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