Biological characterization of AB-343, a novel and potent SARS-CoV-2 M pro inhibitor with pan-coronavirus activity.
McGovern-Gooch, K.R., Mani, N., Gotchev, D., Ardzinski, A., Kowalski, R., Sheraz, M., Micolochick Steuer, H.M., Tercero, B., Wang, X., Wasserman, A., Chen, C.Y., von Konig, K., Maskos, K., Prasad, A., Blaesse, M., Bergmann, A., Konz Makino, D.L., Fan, K.Y., Kultgen, S.G., Lindstrom, A., Nguyen, D., Vega, M., Wang, X., Bracci, N., Weiss, S.R., Cole, A.G., Lam, A.M., Cuconati, A., Sofia, M.J.(2024) Antiviral Res 232: 106038-106038
- PubMed: 39577571 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.antiviral.2024.106038
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
9GLV - PubMed Abstract: 
Since the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, there have been ongoing efforts to identify antiviral molecules with broad coronavirus activity to combat COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2's main protease (M pro ) is responsible for processing the viral polypeptide into non-structural proteins essential for replication. Here, we present the biological characterization of AB-343, a covalent small-molecule inhibitor of SARS-CoV-2 M pro with potent activity in both cell-based (EC 50 = 0.018 μM) and enzymatic (K i = 0.0028 μM) assays. AB-343 also demonstrated excellent inhibition of M pro of other human coronaviruses, including those from the alpha (229E and NL63) and beta (SARS-CoV, MERS, OC43, and HKU1) families, suggesting the compound could be active against future coronaviruses. No change in AB-343 potency was observed against M pro of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, including Omicron, suggesting that AB-343 could be developed as a treatment against currently circulating coronaviruses. AB-343 also remained active against several M pro variants which confer significant resistance to nirmatrelvir and ensitrelvir, which are presently the only M pro inhibitors authorized for the treatment of COVID-19, further supporting the evaluation of AB-343 as a novel and potent therapeutic for COVID-19 and other coronaviruses.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Arbutus Biopharma, Inc., Warminster, PA, USA. Electronic address: kmcgoverngooch@gmail.com.