We describe the design, synthesis, and evaluation, of γ-lactams as glycinamide replacements within a series of di-and trisubstituted cyclohexane CCR2 antagonists. The lactam-containing trisubstituted cyclohexanes proved to be more potent than the disubstituted analogs, as trisubstituted analog, lactam 13, displayed excellent activity (CCR2 binding IC50= 1.0 nM and chemotaxis IC50= 0.5 nM) and improved metabolic stability ...