A process of drug design has previously been described that led to the synthesis of 3-amino- 5-[2-(ethylamino)-4-pyridyl]-1, 2, 4-triazole (4), a competitive histamine H2-receptor antagonist structurally unrelated to, but more potent than, cimetidine. A QSAR study on a subset of analogues closely related to 4 showed that gastric acid antisecretory activity increased with decreasing lipophilicity. An SAR study about 4 focused on (1) pyridine ...