Design, synthesis, and antitumor activity evaluation of potent fourth-generation EGFR inhibitors for treatment of Osimertinib resistant non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is one of the most studied drug targets for treating non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, there are no approved inhibitors for the C797S resistance mutation caused by the third-generation EGFR inhibitor (Osimertinib). Therefore, the development of fourth-generation EGFR inhibitors is urgent. In this study, we clarified the structure–activity relationship of several synthesized compounds as fourth-generation inhibitors against human triple (Del19/T790M/C797S) mutation. Representative compound 52 showed potent inhibitory activity against EGFRL858R/T790M/C797S with an IC50 of 0.55 nM and significantly inhibited the proliferation of the Ba/F3 cell line harboring EGFRL858R/T790M/C797S with an IC50 of 43.28 nM. Moreover, 52 demonstrated good pharmacokinetic properties and excellent in vivo efficacy. Overall, the compound 52 can be considered a promising candidate for overcoming EGFR C797S-mediated mutations