| abstract |
The present invention relates to in vitro methods for evaluating compounds that better correlate with therapeutic efficiency than evaluating compounds based on potency alone. In general, the inventive methods comprises: (i) determining a potency value for a compound against its target receptor; (ii) determining a potency value for a compound against its target receptor; and (iii) comparing the potency value wit the desensitization value. If the desired action of a compound is as a receptor agonist, the compound's desensitization value should be larger than the compound's potency value. This ensures that the concentration of a compound required for potency will not also cause the receptor to desensitize at the same time, thus in an essence nullifying the desired effect. The inventive methods are used to evaluate novel motilide compounds as well as ABT-229 and EM-574, two motilide compounds for which clinical trials have been initiated. |