Synthesis and structure–activity relationships of a series of 4-methoxy-3-(piperidin-4-yl)oxy benzamides as novel inhibitors of the presynaptic choline transporter

The synthesis and SAR of 4-methoxy-3-(piperidin-4-yl) benzamides identified after a high-throughput screen of the MLPCN library is reported. SAR was explored around the 3-piperidine substituent as well as the amide functionality of the reported compounds. Starting from the initial lead compounds, 1–7, iterative medicinal chemistry efforts led to the identification of ML352 (10m). ML352 represents a potent and selective inhibitor of CHT based on a drug-like scaffold.

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