Potent and selective class IIa HDAC tetrasubstituted cyclopropane hydroxamic acid inhibitors were identified with high oral bioavailability that exhibited good brain and muscle exposure. Compound 14 displayed suitable properties for assessment of the impact of class IIa HDAC catalytic site inhibition in preclinical disease models.KEYWORDS: Class IIa HDAC inhibitors, hydroxamic acid, CNS exposure, tetrasubstituted cyclopropane, cyclopropanation, Huntington's disease I nhibition of class IIa HDAC enzymes has been suggested as a therapeutic strategy for a number of indications, including Huntington's disease (HD) and muscular atrophy. Class IIa HDACs are large proteins with multiple functions including transcription factor binding and N-acetyl lysine recognition. 1,2 Of most interest to our laboratory is the role of class IIa HDAC biology in HD, in particular the beneficial effect, which has been observed following HDAC4 genetic suppression. 3−5 Replication of these effects in preclinical models of HD via occupancy of the class IIa HDAC catalytic domain would provide a rationale for small molecule therapy. Currently there are no marketed HDAC class IIa-selective inhibitors, whereas four pan-HDAC inhibitors, vorinostat (SAHA), romidepsin, belinostat, and panobinostat are on the market.Class IIa-selective HDAC inhibitors would represent important tools for elucidating the therapeutic potential of this protein family. We recently reported the structure-based design of trisubstituted cyclopropane class IIa-selective HDAC inhibitors as potential therapeutics in HD. 6 This improved selectivity was driven by exploiting a selectivity pocket ( Figure 1, shown with compound 13) that is not present in the class I HDAC isoforms. This pocket is formed as a consequence of a tyrosine-histidine substitution. 7 We now report the discovery of tetrasubstituted cyclopropane hydroxamic acid class IIa HDAC inhibitors, with additional substitution at C1 (Figure 1). These compounds exhibited improved pharmacokinetic profiles, and so may provide a further means for evaluating efficacy in preclinical in vivo HD disease models.