Patent ID: 7186746

Claim:
A compound of formula I: or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, wherein: R 1 is selected from (a) —X-Aryl-Y—Z, and (b) —X-Heteroaryl-Y—Z, wherein Aryl and Heteroaryl are unsubstituted or substituted with 1–3 groups independently selected from A; Aryl is phenyl or naphthyl; Heteroaryl is a monocyclic or fused bicyclic aromatic ring structure containing 1–4 heteroatoms independently selected from N, O, and S(O) n , wherein the monocyclic ring or each ring of the bicyclic ring structure is a 5–6 membered ring; X is selected from the group consisting of a bond, CH 2 , CH(CH 3 ), C(CH 3 ) 2 , and C 3 –C 6 cycloalkylidene; Y is selected from the group consisting of —CH═CH—, —CH(OH)CH(OH)—, —OCR 7 R 8 —, —SCR 7 R 8 —, and —CH 2 CR 5 R 6 —; Z is selected from the group consisting of —CO 2 H and tetrazole; A is selected from the group consisting of C 1-4 alkyl, C 1-4 alkenyl, —OC 1-4 alkyl, and halogen, wherein alkyl, alkenyl, and —Oalkyl are each optionally substituted with 1–5 halogens; R 5 , R 6 , R 7 , and R 8 are each independently selected from the group consisting of H, halogen, C 1 –C 5 alkyl, —OC 1 –C 5 alkyl, C 2 –C 5 alkenyl, —OC 2 –C 5 alkenyl, C 3-6 cycloalkyl, phenyl, and —CO 2 H, wherein C 1 –C 5 alkyl, —OC 1 –C 5 alkyl, C 2 –C 5 alkenyl, —OC 2 –C 5 alkenyl, C 3-6 cycloalkyl, and phenyl are optionally substituted with 1–5 halogens, and C 3-6 cycloalkyl and phenyl are further optionally substituted with 1–3 groups independently selected from C 1 –C 3 alkyl and —OC 1 –C 3 alkyl, said C 1 –C 3 alkyl and —OC 1 –C 3 alkyl being optionally substituted with 1–3 halogens; Or alternatively R 7 and R 8 may be joined to form a C 3 –C 6 cycloalkyl group, said C 3 –C 6 cycloalkyl group being optionally substituted with 1–3 halogens; Or alternatively, when R 1 is —X-Phenyl-Y—Z, Y is —OCR 7 R 8 , and R 7 is selected from the group consisting of H, halogen, C 1 –C 5 alkyl, —OC 1 –C 5 alkyl, C 2-5 alkyl, —OC 2-5 alkyl, C 3-6 cycloalkyl, and phenyl, then R 8 may optionally be a 1–2-carbon bridge connected to the phenyl ring at the position ortho to Y, thereby yielding a 5 or 6-membered heterocyclic ring fused to the phenyl ring; R 2 is C 1 –C 4 alkyl, which is optionally substituted with 1–5 halogens; R 3 is selected from the group consisting of (a) benzisoxazolyl, (b) benzisothiazolyl, (c) benzpyrazolyl, (d) Aryl (e) —C(═O)Aryl, (f) —C(═O)Heteroaryl, (g) —OAryl, (h) —OHeteroaryl, (i) —S(O) n Aryl, and (j) —S(O) n Heteroaryl, wherein R 3 is optionally substituted with 1–3 substituent groups independently selected from halogen, C 1-3 alkyl, —OC 1-3 alkyl, and —SC 1-3 alkyl, wherein C 1-3 alkyl, —OC 1-3 alkyl, and —SC 1-3 alkyl are optionally substituted with 1–5 halogens; each R 4 is optionally selected from H, halogen, C 1 –C 5 alkyl and —OC 1 –C 5 alkyl, wherein C 1 –C 5 alkyl and —OC 1 –C 5 alkyl are optionally substituted with 1–5 halogens; n is an integer from 0–2; and p is an integer from 1 to 3.