The present invention relates to a novel class of sulfonamides which are aspartyl protease inhibitors. In one embodiment, this invention relates to a novel class of HIV aspartyl protease inhibitors characterized by specific structural and physicochemical features. This invention also relates to pharmaceutical compositions comprising these compounds. The compounds and pharmaceutical compositions of this invention are particularly well suited for inhibiting HIV-1 and HIV-2 protease activity and consequently, may be advantageously used as anti-viral agents against the HIV-1 and HIV-2 viruses. This invention also relates to methods for inhibiting the activity of HIV aspartyl protease using the compounds of this invention and methods for screening compounds for anti-HIV activity.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/094,763, filed Mar. 8, 2002 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,720,335, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference; which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/409,808, filed Sep. 30, 1999 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,392,046, which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/115,394, filed Jul. 14, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,977,137; which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/393,460 filed Feb. 23, 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,783,701; which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/142,327, filed Nov. 24, 1993, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,585,397; which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/941,982, filed Sep. 8, 1992, now abandoned.
