The present invention relates to a novel
prodrug of the disulfide of aldonolactone
reductase inhibitor II based on its formula I (systematic name "disulfalane"), to a method of preparing the disulfide of formula I, to the use of the disulfide of formula I for inhibiting the aldonolactone reductases AKR1B1 and AKR1B10, to the use of the disulfide of formula I in the prevention or treatment of diseases in which the activity of the aldonolactone reductases AKR1B1 and AKR1B10 is a key cause of the formation and development of said diseases, to the use of the disulfide of formula I for the prevention or treatment of cancers derived from chronic
inflammation, i.e. colon
cancer,
lung cancer,
breast cancer,
liver cancer,
prostate cancer,
pancreatic cancer,
endometrial cancer and
cervical cancer. The present invention also relates to the use of the disulfide of formula I as an
adjuvant therapy
drug in combination with clinically used
chemotherapeutic drugs, which can also be substrates of aldonolactone reductases, such as
doxorubicin and
daunorubicin, for the treatment of cancer. The disulfide of formula I is not active as an inhibitor of the aldonolactone reductases AKR1B1 and AKR1B10 itself, but after oral or parenteral administration it is metabolized in the body, preferably in cancer cells characterized by an increased reducing potential due to a significantly increased GSH content compared to healthy cells, thus producing two molecules of semimestar of formula II, i.e. an inhibitor of the activity of aldonolactone reductases. The disulfide of formula I according to the present invention can also have the
advantage that it is better absorbed in the acidic environment of the tumor compared to semimestar of formula II alone. The disulfide of formula I can be used alone or in a pharmaceutically acceptable form: mono- or di-salt, mono- or di-ester,
amide or combinations thereof or other agents, optionally in combination with other anti-inflammatory or anticancer therapeutic drugs.(I)