# Discovery of N-(2-Acetamidobenzo[d]thiazol-6-yl)-2-phenoxyacetamide Derivatives as Novel Potential BCR-ABL1 Inhibitors Through Structure-Based Virtual Screening

## TL;DR

Researchers discovered new compounds that inhibit the BCR-ABL1 kinase, a key target in treating chronic myeloid leukemia, and showed they work well alone and with existing drugs.

## Contribution

A new class of BCR-ABL1 inhibitors was identified through virtual screening and demonstrated anti-tumor activity.

## Key findings

- Compound 10m inhibited BCR-ABL-dependent signaling with an IC50 of 0.98 μM in K562 cells.
- Compound 10m synergized with asciminib to enhance anti-proliferation and pro-apoptotic effects.
- Molecular dynamics simulations helped identify novel scaffolds with potential as BCR-ABL1 inhibitors.

## Abstract

BCR-ABL1 kinase is a critical driver of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) pathophysiology. The approval of allosteric inhibitor asciminib brings new hope for overcoming drug resistance caused by mutations in the ATP-binding site. To expand the chemical diversity of BCR-ABL1 kinase inhibitors with positive anti-tumor effect with asciminib, structure-based virtual screening and molecular dynamics simulations were employed to discover novel scaffolds. This approach led to the identification of a series of N-(2-acetamidobenzo[d]thiazol-6-yl)-2-phenoxyacetamide derivatives as new BCR-ABL1 inhibitors. The most potent compound, 10m, demonstrated inhibition of BCR-ABL-dependent signaling and showed an anti-tumor effect against K562 cells, with an IC50 value of 0.98 μM. Compound 10m displayed powerful synergistic anti-proliferation and pro-apoptotic effects when combined with asciminib, highlighting its potential as a promising lead for the development of potential BCR-ABL inhibitors.