Antagonists of the corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) neuropeptide should prove to be effective in treating stress and anxiety-related disorders. In an effort to identify antagonists with improved physicochemical properties, new tricyclic CRF1 antagonists were designed, synthesized, and tested for biological activity. As a result of studies aimed at establishing a relationship between structure and CRF1 binding affinity, NBI 35965 (12a) was identified ...