Patent Evaluation Pulmonary-Allergy, Dermatological, Gastrointestinal & Arthritis: Novel structures as phospholipase A₂ (PLA₂) inhibitors

Abstract

The four patents from American Home Products, Eli Lilly, Hoffmann-La Roche and SmithKline Beecham described in this review deal with putative inhibitors of phospholipase A₂ (PLA₂), a key enzyme in the inflammatory cascade. They differ in chemical class, extent of evaluation and potency. The most potent compounds are described by Eli Lilly, while the best characterised compounds are those from SmithKline Beecham and Hoffmann-La Roche. The American Home Products (AHP) compounds are not sufficiently well-characterised to classify them as PLA₂ inhibitors.