LAUSR

NVR3-778, one of the most advanced capsid assembly modulators (CAMs), is currently in phase II clinical trial for the treatment of HBV infection. In this study, we reported the first structure optimization of NVR3-778. Compound 2d was found to exhibit more potent anti-HBV activity (IC50: 0.25 µM), lower cytotoxicity (CC50: 10.68 µM) and higher selectivity index (SI: 40.72) than NVR3-778 (IC50: 0.33 µM; CC50: 5.14 µM; SI: 18.36) in vitro, and also display similar inhibitory effect on the assembly of HBV capsids as NVR3-778. Molecular docking further suggested that compound 2d might form a stronger interaction with core protein. Moreover, compound 2d also showed acceptable pharmacokinetic profiles. Currently compound 2d was selected as a new lead for further modifications, and studies to determine the in vivo anti-HBV studies of 2d will begin soon.