WAY-204688 (5 mg/kg per day, po daily for 5 weeks) is evaluated in vivo for the ability to inhibit four proinflammatory genes (MHC, invariant chain (MHI), VCAM-1, RANTES, and TNF-α). The effect of WAY-204688 on induction of the gene products and on uterine wet weight is compared to that of 17α-ethinyl 17β-estradiol (EE at 10 μg/kg per day) in the same paradigm. Further characterization of WAY-204688 is carried out in several preclinical models of inflammatory disease. In the Lewis rat adjuvant-induced arthritis model (AIA), WAY-204688 is active at a dose of 0.3 mg/kg per day, po.