the term “ alkyl ” as used herein means a saturated , straight - chain or branched - chain hydrocarbon containing from 1 to 6 carbon atoms , preferably 1 to 4 carbon atoms and more preferably 1 to 3 carbon atoms , such as methyl , ethyl , n - propyl , isopropyl , n - butyl , 2 - butyl , t - butyl , n - pentyl , n - hexyl , preferably methyl , ethyl and isopropyl . the term “ halogen ” as used herein means fluorine , chlorine and bromine , preferably fluorine or chlorine and more preferably fluorine . the term “ heterocyclyl ” as used herein means a saturated , monocyclic ring with 5 to 6 ring atoms which contains up to 3 , preferably 1 or 2 heteroatoms selected independently from nitrogen , oxygen or sulfur , and wherein the remaining ring atoms being carbon atoms . examples of such saturated heterocycles include [ 1 , 3 ] dioxanyl , [ 1 , 3 ] dioxolanyl , pyrrolidinyl , morpholinyl , piperazinyl , piperidinyl , oxazolidinyl , thiazolidinyl , azepanyl and the like , preferably [ 1 , 3 ] dioxanyl or [ 1 , 3 ] dioxolanyl and more preferably [ 1 , 3 ] dioxanyl . preferably such heterocyclyl groups are unsubstituted . the term “ pyridyl ” as used herein means pyrid - 2 - yl , pyrid - 3 - yl or pyrid - 4 - yl , preferably pyrid - 2 - yl . such pyridyl is preferably unsubstituted . as used herein , a “ pharmaceutically acceptable carrier ” is intended to include any and all material compatible with pharmaceutical administration including solvents , dispersion media , coatings , antibacterial and antifungal agents , isotonic and absorption delaying agents , and other materials and compounds compatible with pharmaceutical administration . except insofar as any conventional media or agent is incompatible with the active compound , use thereof in the compositions of the invention are contemplated . supplementary active compounds can also be incorporated into the compositions . as used herein , the term “ a therapeutically effective amount ” of a compound means an amount of compound that is effective to prevent , alleviate or ameliorate symptoms of disease or prolong the survival of the subject being treated . determination of a therapeutically effective amount is within the skill in the art . the therapeutically effective amount or dosage of a compound according to this invention can vary within wide limits and may be determined in a manner known in the art . such dosage will be adjusted to the individual requirements in each particular case including the specific compound ( s ) being administered , the route of administration , the condition being treated , as well as the patient being treated . in general , in the case of oral or parenteral administration to adult humans weighing approximately 70 kg , a daily dosage of about 10 mg to about 10 , 000 mg , preferably from about 200 mg to about 1 , 000 mg , should be appropriate , although the upper limit may be exceeded when indicated . the daily dosage can be administered as a single dose or in divided doses , or for parenteral administration , it may be given as continuous infusion . r 1 is fluorine , chlorine , bromine , methyl , methoxy or trifluoromethyl ; preferably chlorine , bromine , methoxy or trifluoromethyl and more preferably chlorine , methoxy or trifluoromethyl . r 2 is fluorine , chlorine , bromine , methyl or trifluoromethyl ; preferably fluorine , chlorine or trifluoromethyl and more preferably fluorine or chlorine . r 3 is a ) phenyl , unsubstituted or substituted one to three times by alkyl , preferably once or twice , — or , — nrr ′, halogen , — cn , — cf 3 , — ocf 3 , — chf 2 or — ochf 2 ; preferably by alkyl , — or or halogen ( preferably fluorine ), b ) pyridyl , unsubstituted or substituted one to three times , preferably once or twice , by alkyl ; preferably the pyridyl is unsubstituted ; or c ) heterocyclyl , unsubstituted or substituted one to three times , preferably once or twice , by alkyl ; preferably the heterocyclyl is unsubstituted . r 1 is chlorine , methoxy or trifluoromethyl ; r 2 is fluorine or chlorine ; y is n ; r 3 is a ) phenyl , unsubstituted or substituted once or twice , by alkyl , — or or halogen ( preferably fluorine ), r 1 is chlorine , methoxy or trifluoromethyl ; and r 2 is fluorine or chlorine . r 3 is a ) phenyl , unsubstituted or substituted once or twice by alkyl , — or , halogen , — cn , — cf 3 , or — ocf 3 ; or r 3 is phenyl , unsubstituted or substituted once or twice by alkyl , — or or halogen . y is n ; and r 3 is phenyl , unsubstituted or substituted once or twice by alkyl , — or or halogen . such compounds , for example , may be selected from the group consisting of : 6 -( 4 - m - tolyl - piperazin - 1 - yl )- pyridine - 3 - sulfonic acid 4 - fluoro - 2 - trifluoromethyl - benzoylamide ; sodium salt ; 6 -( 4 - phenyl - piperazin - 1 - yl )- pyridine - 3 - sulfonic acid 4 - chloro - 2 - methoxy - benzoylamide ; sodium salt ; 6 -[ 4 -( 4 - fluoro - phenyl )- piperazin - 1 - yl ]- pyridine - 3 - sulfonic acid 4 - fluoro - 2 - trifluoromethyl - benzoylamide ; sodium salt ; 6 -[ 4 -( 2 - methoxy - phenyl )- piperazin - 1 - yl ]- pyridine - 3 - sulfonic acid 4 - chloro - 2 - methoxy - benzoylamide ; sodium salt ; 6 -[ 4 -( 4 - methoxy - phenyl )- piperazin - 1 - yl ]- pyridine - 3 - sulfonic acid 4 - chloro - 2 - trifluoromethyl - benzoylamide ; sodium salt ; 6 -( 4 - phenyl - piperazin - 1 - yl )- pyridine - 3 - sulfonic acid 2 - chloro - 4 - fluoro - benzoylamide ; sodium salt ; 6 -[ 4 -( 4 - fluoro - phenyl )- piperazin - 1 - yl ]- pyridine - 3 - sulfonic acid 4 - chloro - 2 - methoxy - benzoylamide ; sodium salt ; 6 -[ 4 -( 2 - methoxy - phenyl )- piperazin - 1 - yl ]- pyridine - 3 - sulfonic acid 4 - chloro - 2 - trifluoromethyl - benzoylamide ; sodium salt ; 6 -[ 4 -( 2 - methoxy - phenyl )- piperazin - 1 - yl ]- pyridine - 3 - sulfonic acid 2 - chloro - 4 - fluoro - benzoylamide ; sodium salt ; 6 -( 4 - phenyl - piperazin - 1 - yl )- pyridine - 3 - sulfonic acid 2 , 4 - dichloro - benzoylamide ; sodium salt ; 6 -[ 4 -( 4 - fluoro - phenyl )- piperazin - 1 - yl ]- pyridine - 3 - sulfonic acid 2 , 4 - dichloro - benzoylamide ; sodium salt ; 6 -[ 4 -( 4 - fluoro - phenyl )- piperazin - 1 - yl ]- pyridine - 3 - sulfonic acid 2 - chloro - 4 - fluoro - benzoylamide ; sodium salt ; 6 -( 4 - phenyl - piperazin - 1 - yl )- pyridine - 3 - sulfonic acid 4 - fluoro - 2 - trifluoromethyl - benzoylamide ; sodium salt ; 6 -[ 4 -( 2 - fluoro - phenyl )- piperazin - 1 - yl ]- pyridine - 3 - sulfonic acid 4 - fluoro - 2 - trifluoromethyl - benzoylamide ; sodium salt ; and 6 -[ 4 -( 2 , 4 - difluoro - phenyl )- piperazin - 1 - yl ]- pyridine - 3 - sulfonic acid 4 - fluoro - 2 - trifluoromethyl - benzoylamide ; sodium salt . such compounds , for example , may be selected from the group consisting of : such compounds , for example , may be selected from the group consisting of : one embodiment of the invention is a process for the preparation of the compounds of formula i , by wherein r 3 has the significance given for formula i , wherein r 2 and r 3 have the significance given for formula i , wherein r 1 , r 2 and r 3 have the significance given for formula i . the compounds of formula i , or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof , which are subject of the present invention , may be prepared by any process known to be applicable to the preparation of chemically - related compounds . such processes , when used to prepare a compound of the formula i , or a pharmaceutically - acceptable salt thereof , are illustrated by the following representative schemes 1 and 2 ( and the examples ) in which , unless otherwise stated , r , r 1 , r 2 and r 3 have the significance given herein before for formula i . necessary starting materials are either commercially available or they may be obtained by standard procedures of organic chemistry . the preparation of such starting materials is e . g . described within the accompanying examples or in the literature cited below with respect to scheme 1 . alternatively necessary starting materials are obtainable by analogous procedures to those illustrated which are within the ordinary skill of an organic chemist . the compounds of the present invention can be prepared according to scheme 1 and are named i : in scheme 1 , r 1 , r 2 , r 3 and y have the significance given above for formula i . step 1 of the reaction sequence ( scheme 1 ) is a one step process in which an aminopyridine is converted into a pyridine sulfonyl chloride using methods well known to someone skilled in the art , e . g . diazotization followed by nucleophilic displacement . this reaction is typically carried out with solvents such as acetic acid , sulphuric acid , hydrochloric acid , water and mixtures thereof , at temperatures between − 78 ° c . and 100 ° c . step 2 of the reaction sequence ( scheme 1 ) is a one step process in which a pyridine sulfonyl chloride is converted into a pyridine sulfonamide using methods well known to someone skilled in the art , e . g . ammonolysis . the reaction is typically carried out with solvents such as dichloromethane , dichloroethane , acetonitrile , dioxane , tetrahydrofuran , dimethylformamide and mixtures thereof , at temperatures between − 78 ° c . and 30 ° c . step 3 of the reaction sequence ( scheme 1 ) is a one step process in which acylation of iii gives the acylsulfonamide derivatives of formula iv using methods well known to someone skilled in the art . the reaction is typically carried out in solvents such as dichloromethane , dichloroethane , acetonitrile , dioxane , tetrahydrofuran , chloroform , dimethylformamide and mixtures thereof , at temperatures between − 10 ° c . and 100 ° c . typically used bases are sodium hydride , potassium hydride , potassium carbonate , triethylamine , diisopropylethylamine , and 1 , 8 - diazabicyclo [ 5 . 4 . 0 ] undec - 7 - ene . step 4 of the reaction sequence ( scheme 1 ) is a one step process in which a 2 - chloropyridine sulphonamide of formula iv is converted by reaction with a 2 - piperidine or 2 - piperazine derivative of formula v into a 2 - piperidine - or 2 - piperazine - pyridine sulphonamide of formula i using methods well known to someone skilled in the art . the reaction is typically carried out with or without solvents such as dichloromethane , dichloroethane , tetrahydrofuran , dioxane and mixtures thereof , at temperatures between 0 ° c . and 100 ° c . the reactions are carried out with or without bases , typical bases used are sodium hydride , potassium hydride , potassium carbonate , triethylamine , diisopropylethylamine , and ( 1 , 8 - diazabicyclo [ 5 . 4 . 0 ] undec - 7 - ene . the compounds of formula i can contain one or several chiral centers and can then be present in a racemic , a enantiomeric or diastereomeric form . the racemates can be separated according to known methods into the enantiomers . for instance , diastereomeric salts which can be separated by crystallization are formed from the racemic mixtures by reaction with an optically active acid such as e . g . d - or l - camphorsulfonic acid . alternatively separation of the enantiomers can also be achieved by using chromatography on chiral hplc - phases which are commercially available . pharmaceutical composition or medicaments containing a compound of the present invention or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier are an object of the present invention , as is a process for their production , which comprises bringing one or more compounds of the present invention and / or pharmaceutically acceptable salts and , if desired , one or more other therapeutically valuable substances into a galenical administration form together with one or more pharmaceutically acceptable carriers . an embodiment of the invention is a pharmaceutical composition , containing one or more compounds according to formula i , together with pharmaceutically acceptable carriers . another embodiment of the invention is a pharmaceutical composition , containing one or more compounds according to formula i , for the inhibition of tumor growth . another embodiment of the invention is a pharmaceutical composition , containing one or more compounds according to formula i , for the treatment of cancer . another embodiment of the invention is a pharmaceutical composition containing one or more compounds of formula i as active ingredients together with pharmaceutically acceptable carriers for the treatment of colorectal , breast , lung , prostate , pancreatic , gastric , bladder , ovarian , melanoma , neuroblastoma , cervical , kidney or renal cancers , leukemias or lymphomas . another embodiment of the invention is the use of a compound according to formula i , for the manufacture of corresponding pharmaceutical compositions for the inhibition of tumor growth . the celltiter - glo ™ luminescent cell viability assay ( promega ) is a homogeneous method of determining the number of viable cells in culture based on quantitation of the atp present , which signals the presence of metabolically active cells . hct 116 cells ( human colon carcinoma , atcc - no . ccl - 247 ) were cultivated in rpmi 1640 medium with glutamax ™ i ( invitrogen , cat - no . 61870 - 010 ), 5 % fetal calf serum ( fcs , sigma cat - no . f4135 ( fbs )); 100 units / ml penicillin / 100 μg / ml streptomycin (= pen / strep from invitrogen cat . no . 15140 ). for the assay the cells were seeded in 384 well plates , 1000 cells per well , in the same medium . the next day the test compounds were added in various concentrations ranging from 30 μm to 0 . 0015 μm ( 10 concentrations , 1 : 3 diluted ). after 5 days the celltiter - glo ™ assay was done according to the instructions of the manufacturer ( celltiter - glo ™ luminescent cell viability assay , from promega ). in brief the cell - plate was equilibrated to room temperature for approximately 30 minutes and than the celltiter - glo ™ reagent was added . the contents were carefully mixed for 15 minutes to induce cell lysis . after 45 minutes the luminescent signal was measured in victor 2 , ( scanning multiwell spectrophotometer , wallac ). medium : rpmi 1640 with glutamax ™ i ( invitrogen , cat - nr . 61870 ), 5 % fcs ( sigma cat .- no . f4135 ), pen / strep ( invitrogen , cat no . 15140 ). hct116 ( atcc - no . ccl - 247 ): 1000 cells in 60 μl per well of 384 well plate ( greiner 781098 , μclear - plate white ) after seeding incubate plates 24 h at 37 ° c ., 5 % co 2 in order to achieve a final concentration of 30 μm as highest concentration 3 . 5 μl of 10 mm compound stock solution were added directly to 163 μl media . then step e ) of the dilution procedure described below , was followed . in order to achieve the second highest to the lowest concentrations , a serial dilution with dilution steps of 1 : 3 was followed according to the procedure ( a - e ) as described here below : a ) for the second highest concentration add 10 μl of 10 mm stock solution of compound to 20 μl dimethylsulfoxide ( dmso ) b ) dilute 8 × 1 : 3 ( always 10 μl to 20 μl dmso ) in this dmso dilution row ( results in 9 wells with concentrations from 3333 . 3 μm to 0 . 51 μm ) c ) dilute each concentration 1 : 47 . 6 ( 3 . 5 μl compound dilution to 163 μl media ) e ) add 10 μl of every concentration to 60 μl media in the cell plate resulting in final concentration of dmso : 0 . 3 % in every well and resulting in 10 final concentration of compounds ranging from 30 μm to 0 . 0015 μm . each compound is tested in triplicate . incubate 120 h ( 5 days ) at 37 ° c ., 5 % co 2 victor 2 scanning multiwell spectrophotometer ( wallac ), luminescence mode ( 0 . 5 sec / read , 477 nm ) determine ic50 using a non - linear curve fit ( xlfit software ( id business solution ltd ., guilford , surrey , uk )) with all compounds a significant inhibition of hct 116 cell viability was detected , which is exemplified by the compounds shown in table 1 . the pharmaceutical compositions can be administered orally , e . g . in the form of tablets , coated tablets , dragées , hard and soft gelatine capsules , solutions , emulsions or suspensions . the administration can , however , also be effected rectally , e . g . in the form of suppositories , or parenterally , e . g . in the form of injection solutions . the above - mentioned pharmaceutical compositions can be obtained by processing the compounds according to this invention with pharmaceutically acceptable , inorganic or organic carriers . lactose , corn starch or derivatives thereof , talc , stearic acids or it &# 39 ; s salts and the like can be used , for example , as such carriers for tablets , coated tablets , dragées and hard gelatine capsules . suitable carriers for soft gelatine capsules are , for example , vegetable oils , waxes , fats , semi - solid and liquid polyols and the like . depending on the nature of the active substance no carriers are , however , usually required in the case of soft gelatine capsules . suitable carriers for the production of solutions and syrups are , for example , water , polyols , glycerol , vegetable oil and the like . suitable carriers for suppositories are , for example , natural or hardened oils , waxes , fats , semi - liquid or liquid polyols and the like . the pharmaceutical compositions can , moreover , contain preservatives , solubilizers , stabilizers , wetting agents , emulsifiers , sweeteners , colorants , flavorants , salts for varying the osmotic pressure , buffers , masking agents or antioxidants . they can also contain still other therapeutically valuable substances . 1 . mix items 1 , 2 , 3 and 4 and granulate with purified water . 4 . add item 5 and mix for three minutes ; compress on a suitable press . 1 . mix items 1 , 2 and 3 in a suitable mixer for 30 minutes . the following examples are provided to aid the understanding of the present invention , the true scope of which is set forth in the appended claims . it is understood that modifications can be made in the procedures set forth without departing from the spirit of the invention . general procedure for the preparation of the pyridine sulfonic acid amide material sodium nitrite ( 3 . 45 g , 0 . 05 mol ) was added portion wise to a stirred solution of 6 - chloro - pyridin - 3 - ylamine ( 6 . 4 g , 0 . 05 mol ) in acetic acid ( 56 ml ) and hcl ( conc ) ( 9 . 92 ml ) while maintaining the temperature below 15 ° c . this solution was then added drop wise to a stirred solution of sulfur dioxide ( 17 . 2 g , 0 . 27 mol ), copper ( ii ) chloride ( 1 . 85 g , 0 . 011 mol ) and water ( 2 . 2 ml ) in acetic acid ( 37 ml ) at 5 ° c . the reaction mixture was allowed to warm to room temperature and poured over ice water and stirred for a further 15 min . the resultant precipitate was collected by filtration , washed with water and dried overnight in a vacuum oven to give 6 - chloro - pyridine - 3 - sulfonyl chloride ( 6 . 41 g , 60 . 5 % yield ); ( 400 mhz ; d 6 - dmso ) 8 . 54 ( 1h , d ), 7 . 96 ( 1h , dd ), 7 . 50 ( 1h , d ). 6 - chloro - pyridine - 3 - sulfonyl chloride ( 5 . 0 g , 0 . 024 mol ) was dissolved in a 0 . 5m solution of ammonia in dioxane ( 125 ml ) at − 5 ° c . the mixture was allowed to warm to room temperature and the mixture stirred for 1 hour . the mixture was filtered through celite ®, washed twice with dioxane and concentrated in vacuo to afford 6 - chloro - pyridine - 3 - sulfonic acid amide as an off white solid 4 . 55 g ( 98 % yield ). lc @ uv215 nm ; rt 1 . 05 : 100 %, m / z ( es +): 193 / 195 ( 400 mhz ; d 6 - dmso ) 8 . 79 ( 1h , d ), 8 . 21 ( 1h , dd ), 7 . 75 ( 1h , d ) 7 . 70 ( 2h , br s ) sodium hydride ( 60 % v dispersion in mineral oil , 2 . 5 g , 0 . 062 mol ) was added portion wise to a suspension of 6 - chloro - pyridine - 3 - sulfonic acid amide ( 4 g , 0 . 0207 mol ) in dioxane ( 75 ml ) at 0 ° c . and the whole was stirred for 1 hour . a solution of 2 , 4 - dichloro - benzoyl chloride ( 5 . 2 g , 0 . 0248 mol ) in dioxane ( 75 ml ) was added drop wise at 0 ° c . and the reaction mixture stirred at room temperature for 3 hours . the mixture was filtered under vacuum and the resultant solid washed twice with dioxane ( 200 ml ). this solid was then dissolved in hot acetonitrile ( 150 ml ). the acetonitrile was dried ( mgso 4 ) and concentrated to give the sulphonamide as a white solid 6 . 7 g , ( 88 % yield ). lc @ uv215 nm ; rt 1 . 92 : 98 %, m / z ( es +): 365 / 367 ( m + h ); δ h ( 400 mhz ; d 6 - dmso ) 8 . 65 ( 1h , d ), 8 . 10 ( 1h , dd ), 7 . 50 ( 1h , d ), 7 . 41 - 7 . 38 ( 2h , m ), 7 . 25 ( 1h , dd ), depending on the work - up procedure i . e . the hplc purification conditions , the final products described below ( in examples 1 - 1 to 1 - 20 ) were obtained either directly as sulfonamide sodium salts ( neutral hplc - conditions — e . g . aqueous eluent is water ( ph is 7 )/ acetonitrile 9 : 1 and the organic eluent is acetonitrile ) or they were obtained firstly as sulfonamide ammonium salts ( basic hplc conditions — e . g . with ammonium carbonate as buffer ph = 10 ) or as sulfonamides in their salt free form ( acidic hplc conditions — e . g . the aqueous eluent is water with 0 . 2 % acetic acid and the organic eluent is acetonitrile with 0 . 2 % acetic acid ) these obtained sulfonamides or sulfonamide ammonium salts were or are converted to their sodium salts using the following procedure : to a solution of the sulfonamide or sulfonamide ammonium salt ( 1 eq ., e . g . 1 mmol ) in tetrahydrofuran ( e . g . 10 ml ), 1 eq . ( e . g . 1 mmol ) sodium methoxide ( 25 % solution in methanol ) is added and the mixture is stirred at room temperature for 1 hour . the tetrahydrofuran is removed in vacuo and the residue suspended in diethyl ether ( e . g . 50 to 100 ml ) and heated to reflux four 1 hour , cooled down to room temperature filtered off and dried . triethylamine ( 26 μl , 0 . 18 mmol ) and 1 - pyridin - 2 - yl - piperazine ( 82 mg , 0 . 5 mmol ) was added to a stirred solution of 6 - chloro - pyridine - 3 - sulfonic acid 2 , 4 - dichloro - benzoylamide sodium salt ( 70 mg , 0 . 18 mmol ) in dioxane at room temperature . the reaction mixture was then heated to 80 ° c . for 48 hours . the reaction mixture was concentrated in vacuo and the crude solid dissolved in acetonitrile water ( 1 : 1 , 1 . 5 ml ) and purified by preparative hplc ( basic hplc conditions with ammonium carbonate as buffer ph = 10 ) to give the final compound , ms ( esi +): 492 / 494 ( m + h ). 1 h - nmr ( 500 mhz , d 6 - dmso ): 3 . 66 ( t , 4h ), 3 . 84 ( t , 4h ), 6 . 69 ( m , 1h ), 6 . 88 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 00 ( d , 1h ), 7 . 49 ( m , 2h ), 7 . 58 ( m , 1h ), 7 . 67 ( s , 1h ), 7 . 97 ( m , 1h ), 8 . 15 ( d , 1h ), 8 . 62 ( d , 1h ) the following examples were prepared in an analogous manner as described for example 1 - 1 , using the appropriate starting material :