| abstract |
Compounds which are 3-arylsulfonyl-2-methyl propanoic acid derivatives of formula (I): wherein X is HO-NH- or HO-, R1 is selected from phenyl, 4-chlorophenyl, 4-fluorophenyl, 4-cyanophenyl, benzamido (i.e., -NH-CO-Ph) and benzamido substituted on the terminal phenyl ring by C1-C4 alkyl, fluoro, chloro, cyano or C1-4 alkoxy; R2 is selected from (a) -S-Ar or -S-CH2-Ar wherein Ar is an aromatic moiety; (b) -O-Ar wherein Ar is as defined above; (c) -S-Het or -S-CH2-Het wherein Het is a heterocyclic ring; and (d) 2,5-dioxo-1-imidazolidinyl or 2,4-dioxo-1-imidazolinyl; and the pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof; have potent and selective inhibitory activity against matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and can thus be used in the treatment and prevention of diseases mediated by MMPs. |