title: Inhibitors of the renal outer medullary potassium channel: a patent review.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Hypertension represents a substantial cardiovascular risk factor. Among anti-hypertensive drugs, diuretics play an important role. Nevertheless, they present adverse effects such as hypokalemia or hyperkalemia. In this panorama, inhibitors of the renal outer medullary potassium (ROMK) channels are emerging because they are predicted to give a diuretic/natriuretic activity higher than that provided by loop diuretics, without hypokaliemic and hyperkaliemic side effects.
  
  
  METHODS
  This article reviews the current literature, including all the patents published in the field of inhibitors of the ROMK channels for the treatment of hypertension, heart failure and correlated diseases. The patent examination has been carried out using electronic databases Espacenet.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although anti-hypertensive drugs armamentarium enumerates a plethora of therapeutic classes, including diuretics, the novel class of ROMK inhibitors may find a place in this crowded market, because of the diuretic/natriuretic effects, devoid of worrying influence on potassium balance. The patent examination highlights, as a strength, the individuation of a successful template: almost all the compounds show noteworthy potency. However, only few selected compounds underwent an in vivo investigation of diuretic and anti-hypertensive activities, and no data on the hERG channel are given in these patents.
authors.affiliation: a 1 Department of Pharmacy , via Bonanno 6, I-56126, Pisa, Italy +39 50 2219598 ; +39 50 2210680 ; alma.martelli@farm.unipi.it.
authors.forename: Alma
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martelli
authors.forename: Lara
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Testai
authors.forename: Maria Cristina
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Breschi
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Calderone
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D004232:Diuretics / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy*; D010330:Patents as Topic; D026902:Potassium Channel Blockers / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000494:pharmacology*; D024661:Potassium Channels, Inwardly Rectifying / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents; D004232:Diuretics; D026902:Potassium Channel Blockers; D024661:Potassium Channels, Inwardly Rectifying
keywords: diuretics; heart failure; hyperkalemia; hypertension; hypokalemia; renal outer medullar potassium channels; renal outer medullary potassium inhibitors