Design, synthesis and preclinical evaluation of 5-methyl-N 4 -aryl-furo[2,3-d]pyrimidines as single agents with combination chemotherapy potential.

•Discovered a new class of single agents for cancer chemotherapy.•Compounds are highly potent inhibitors of tubulin and angiogenesis pathway.•Optimized Ullmann coupling, a key step in the synthesis of target compounds.•Compound 1 showed efficacy in human renal (A498) xenograft model in mice.