Imeglimin is the first in class tetrahydrotriazine‐containing oral glucose-lowering agent that has been studied in clinical trials as a possible monotherapy or add-on therapy to lower fasting plasma glucose. It is being developed as an alternative and a complement to drugs that act on insulin‐resistant organs or drugs acting on insulin secretion and β‐cell protection. When investigated in preclinical studies, Imeglimin showed that it can target insulin‐resistant organs by decreasing excessive hepatic glucose production and increasing muscle glucose uptake. It also showed a potential to restore appropriate glucose‐stimulated insulin secretion and protect β‐cells from cell death under high glucose conditions. Imeglimin acts on the liver, muscle, and the pancreas (6), three key organs involved in the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes through suspected mechanisms targeting the mitochondria and reduced oxidative stress. Imeglimin decreases hepatic glucose production and increases muscle glucose uptake. Recently, Imeglimin demonstrated increased insulin secretion in response to glucose in diabetic patients during a hyperglycemic clamp study. In clinical trials, Imeglimin treatment for 7 days raised the insulin secretory response to glucose, improved β-cell glucose sensitivity and tended to decrease hepatic insulin extraction. Imeglimin did not affect glucagon secretion.

Menarini was developing ibodutant (also known as MEN15596) as a selective neurokinin (NK) 2 and tachykinin receptor antagonist. It is known that tachykinins have been implicated in the pathophysiology of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) with diarrhoea. Ibodutant was studied as a treatment for gastrointestinal disorders. A phase 2 trial completed in May 2012 with positive results. Ibodutant participated in a 52-week phase 3 in women with IBS with diarrhea, however, the study was terminated because of the negative results of the sister study NAK-06 and the low overall response rate at week 24.

AstraZeneca was developing AZD-8055, an orally active mTORC1/mTORC2 inhibitor, for the treatment of advanced solid tumours. AZD-8055 is an ATP-competitive mTORC1/2 inhibitor that exhibits immunosuppressive and anticancer chemotherapeutic activities. AZD-8055 promotes antibody class switching in B cells at low doses and decreases B cell proliferation and differentiation at high doses. In vivo, this compound suppresses CC4 and CD8 T cell proliferation, increasing survival among MHC-mismatched heart transplant recipients. In vitro, AZD-8055 decreases viability of brain tumor cells; in vivo, it inhibits tumor growth. AZD-8055 had been in phase I trials by AstraZeneca for the treatment of malignant gliomas and solid tumours. However, this research has been discontinued.

Mericitabine is a specific inhibitor of hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication that target NS5B polymerase. Mericitabine, a prodrug, is hydrolyzed in vivo to produce PSI-6130. It had been studied in phase II clinical trials for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. However, while it showed a good safety profile in clinical trials, it was not sufficiently effective to be used as a standalone agent.

LY404039 [(-)-(1R,4S,5S,6S)-4-amino-2-sulfonylbicyclo[3.1.0]-hexane-4,6-dicarboxylic acid] is an agonist of orthosteric metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR)2/3. In addition, it acts as an agonist at dopamine D2 receptors. LY404039 demonstrated broad antipsychotic and anxiolytic efficacy across multiple animal models. LY-2140023 is a methionine amide prodrug of LY-404039 being developed by Eli Lilly & Co for the potential oral treatment of schizophrenia.

Onalespib (AT13387; (2,4-dihydroxy-5-isopropyl-phenyl)-[5-(4-methyl-piperazin-1-ylmethyl)-1,3-dihydro-isoindol-2-yl] methanone, l-lactic acid salt), is wholly owned by Astex, a novel, high-affinity HSP90 inhibitor, which is currently being clinically tested, has shown activity against a wide array of tumor cell lines, including lung cancer cell lines. As a targeted inhibitor of Hsp90, onalespib has the potential to control the proliferation of multiple solid tumors and hematological malignancies where uncontrolled cell growth is dependent on the interaction between Hsp90 and its client proteins. Astex is pursuing an approach based on the observation that addition of onalespib to a molecularly targeted agent may delay the emergence of resistance to the agent, and hence prolong the window of therapeutic benefit. Onalespib is currently being evaluated via a CRADA with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in various tumor types, and in a Phase 1/2 clinical study in combination with AT7519, Astex CDK inhibitor.

Trigonelline is a pyridine derivative known to contribute indirectly to the formation of desirable flavor products, including furans, pyrazine, alkyl-pyridines, and pyrroles, during coffee roasting. The amount of trigonelline in arabica is higher than that in robusta green coffee beans, and thus it can be used as a marker compound to distinguish the coffee bean species. During the roasting process of coffee beans, trigonelline changes into N-methylpyridinium and nicotinic acid as its major products, which makes it a useful index of the degree of roasting. The importance of trigonelline in coffee is connected to nutritional aspects. It has been revealed in recent studies that the administration of trigonelline allows diabetic rats to avoid diabetes-related organ damage and live longer, which can make it a potentially strong candidate for industrial application as a pharmacological agent for the treatment of hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, and liver/kidney dysfunctions. In addition, the urinary concentrations of trigonelline and its thermal product N-methylpyridinium of coffee drinkers are higher than those of noncoffee drinkers, which indicates that trigonelline and N-methylpyridinium may have potential as dietary biomarkers that could be used as analytical probes to control compliance in human intervention studies on coffee. Trigonelline has been isolated from many plants: fenugreek seeds (Trigonella foenum-graecum, hence the name), garden peas, hemp seed, oats, potatoes, Stachys species, dahlia, Strophanthus species, and Dichapetalum cymosum. In a randomized cross-over trial, the critical effect of Trigonelline on glucose tolerance has been studied during a 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) in 15 overweight men. Results showed that glucose and insulin concentrations significantly reduced 15minutes after Trigonelline consumption compared with placebo.