Heteroaryl nitriles

Compounds of formula (I)

• wherein
• R1 is heteroaryl, (CR′R″)m—CO—Ra or —S(O)p—Ra;
• wherein:
• R′ and R″ are independently hydrogen or lower alkyl;
• m is zero or one;
• p is one or two;
• Ra is heteroaryl, heteroaryl-lower-alkyl, or heteroaryl-lower-alkoxy wherein the heteroaryl in each of the preceding is selected from the group consisting of indolyl, pyridyl, quinolinyl, isoquinolinyl, N-oxo-quinolinyl, N-oxo-isoquinolinyl, naphthyridinyl, pyrazolyl, indazolyl, furo[2,3-b]pyridinyl, furo[2,3-c]pyridinyl, furo[3,2-c]pyridinyl, furo[3,2-b]pyridinyl, 1H-pyrrolo[3,2-b]pyridinyl, 1H-pyrrolo[2,3-b]pyridinyl, 1H-pyrrolo[3,2-c]pyridinyl, 1H-pyrrolo[2,3-c]pyridinyl, 1H-pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridine, 1H-pyrazolo[3,4-c]pyridine, 1H-pyrazolo[4,3-b]pyridine, 1H-pyrazolo[4,3-c]pyridine, benzothiazolyl, azaindolyl, imidazo[2,1-b]benzothiazolyl and indolizinyl, each optionally substituted;
• R2 is hydrogen or lower-alkyl
• R3 is hydrogen or lower-alkyl
• R4 is hydrogen or lower-alkyl,
• R5 is hydrogen, lower-alkyl, heteroalkyl, alkoxyacylalkyl, cycloalkyl, cycloalkyl-loweralkyl, aryl aralkyl, heteroaryl or heteroaryl-loweralkyl;
• R6 is hydrogen or alkyl;
• and
• n is an integer from one to three;
• and pharmaceutically acceptable salts and/or pharmaceutically acceptable esters thereof.