A series of 3-aryl-5-acylpiperazinyl-pyrazoles (eg, 3a–b) initially identified through a high- throughput screening campaign using the aequorin Ca2+ bioluminescence assay as novel, potent small molecule antagonists of the G protein-coupled human tachykinin NK3 receptor (hNK3-R) is described. Preliminary profiling revealed poor plasma and metabolic stability for these structures in rodents. Further optimization efforts resulted in analogs with improved ...