The invention provides novel inhibitors of IAP that are useful as therapeutic agents for treating malignancies where the compounds have the general formula I:
wherein A, Q, X
1
, X
2
, Y, R
1
, R
2
, R
3
, R
4
, R
4
′, R
5
, R
6
and R
6
′ are as described herein.
acetylisoquinolines were obtained from the corresponding chloro-, bromo- or trifluoromethylsulfonyloxy-heteroaromatics via four different palladium-catalyzed coupling reactions: (i) Stille coupling with tri(n-butyl)-1-ethoxyvinylstannane; (ii) Negishi coupling with 1-ethoxyvinylzinc chloride; (iii) cross-coupling with tri(1-ethoxyvinyl)indium; (iv) Heck arylation of n-butyl vinyl ether.