1. Academic Validation
  2. Discovery of Pyrazoloquinazoline Analogues as Orally Bioavailable KRAS-G12D Inhibitors

Discovery of Pyrazoloquinazoline Analogues as Orally Bioavailable KRAS-G12D Inhibitors

  • J Med Chem. 2026 Jan 8;69(1):466-487. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.5c02840.
Jiyoung Song 1 2 Eunsung Jang 2 Gyeonghi Cho 2 Hoiyun Jung 2 Minchang Cho 2 Chuneung Park 2 Jihun Kim 1 Soyoung Ki 2 Beomjin Hong 2 Ilkyoo Koh 2 Hyunho Cho 2 Seona Lim 2 Mi Jin Moon 2 Sungwan Hwang 2 Hyun-Ju Park 1 Pargat Singh 1 In Su Kim 1
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 School of Pharmacy, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea.
  • 2 Drug Research Division, SK Biopharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., Seongnam 13494, Republic of Korea.
Abstract

G12D is a dominant mutant of KRAS, accounting for 67.6% of PDAC cases, which drives the development of selective KRAS-G12D inhibitors in Cancer therapy. Herein, we describe the rationale design, synthesis, and biological evaluation of KRAS-G12D inhibitors with pyrazoloquinazoline and 3,5-ethylene-bridged piperazine groups as the key pharmacophores. Compound 53a exhibited comparable binding to KRAS-G12D (ΔTm = 12.1 °C) and potent in vitro activities (IC50 values of 8.4 nM and 19.5 nM against p-ERK and proliferation of AsPC-1 cells, respectively), compared to those of MRTX1133 as a reference standard. Furthermore, compound 53a displayed appreciable plasma exposure, bioavailability, and pharmacokinetic profiles after oral administration, overcoming the poor oral bioavailability observed in MRTX1133. In vivo study showed that 53a significantly inhibited tumor growth in the AsPC-1 xenograft mouse model by inhibiting KRAS-G12D. These findings support 53a as a promising lead candidate for the development of selective KRAS-G12D targeted Cancer therapies.

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