Patent ID: 8440711

Claim:
A compound of formula (I) or single enantiomers or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, wherein Ar is a phenyl group substituted by one or more groups independently selected from F, Br, I, C 2 -C 4 -alkenyl, C 2 -C 4 -alkynyl, hydroxy, C 1 -C 4 -acyloxy, cyano, heteroarylamino, C 1 -C 4 -acylamino, halo-C 1 -C 3 -alkyl, halo-C 1 -C 3 -alkoxy, benzoyl, heteroarylcarbonyl, heteroaryl, linear or branched C 1 -C 8 -alkanesulfonate, linear or branched C 1 -C 8 -alkanesulfonamides, linear or branched C 1 -C 8 -alkyl sulfonylmethyl; or Ar is a heteroaryl ring selected from pyrrole, thiofene, furane, indole; R is OH or a residue of formula NR′R″ wherein R′ group is selected from H, OH and when R′ is H, R″ is selected from H, C 1 -C 5 -alkyl, C 3 -C 6 -cycloalkyl, C 2 -C 5 -alkenyl, C 1 -C 5 -alkoxy; an heteroaryl group selected from substituted and unsubstituted pyridine, pyrimidine, pyrrole, thiofene, furane, indole, thiazole, oxazole; an amino acid residue comprising straight or branched C 1 -C 6 -alkyl, C 3 -C 6 -cycloalkyl, C 2 -C 6 -alkenyl, C 1 -C6-phenylalkyl, substituted with one further carboxy (COOH) group; a residue of formula —CH 2 —CH 2 —Z—(CH 2 —CH 2 O) n R* wherein R* is H or C 1 -C 5 -alkyl, n is an integer from 0 to 2 and Z is oxygen or sulfur; a residue of formula —(CH 2 ) n —NR a R b wherein n is an integer from 0 to 5 and each R a and R b , which may be the same or different, are C 1 -C 6 -alkyl, C 2 -C 6 -alkenyl or, alternatively, R a and R b , together with the nitrogen atom to which they are bound, form a heterocycle from 3 to 7 members of formula (II) wherein W represents a single bond, O, S, N—R c , R c being H, C 1 -C 6 -alkyl or C 1 -C 6 -alkylphenyl, and n is an integer from 0 to 3, a residue of formula SO 2 R d wherein R d is C 1 -C 6 -alkyl, C 3 -C 6 -cycloalkyl, C 2 -C 6 -alkenyl, aryl and heteroaryl; when R′ is OH, R″ is selected from H, C 1 -C 6 -alkyl, C 3 -C 6 -cycloalkyl, C 2 -C 5 -alkenyl with the proviso that compounds of the general formula (I) exclude 2-(3-benzoylphenyl)-2-fluoropropanoic acid.