Patent status of histone deacetylase inhibitors

Abstract

Histone deacetylase (HDAC) has emerged as an important therapeutic target for the treatment of cancer and other diseases. Several HDAC inhibitors that target class I and II HDACs are currently in clinical trials. The initial results from these studies indicate that HDAC inhibitors show great promise for the treatment of cancer. To date, more than 30 research organisations are named as applicants on published patent applications claiming structures of HDAC inhibitors. This review summarises the patent literature published from mid-2002 to early 2004 containing claims directed towards HDAC inhibitor structures, together with discussion of the related primary literature.

• benzamide
• m-carboxycinnamic acid bishydroxamide (CBHA)
• cyclic peptide
• depsipeptide
• FK228
• histone deacetylase (HDAC)
• hydroxamic acid
• suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA)
• trichostatin (TSA)