Discovery of Asciminib (ABL001), an Allosteric Inhibitor of the Tyrosine Kinase Activity of BCR-ABL1.

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Schoepfer J, Jahnke W, Berellini G, Buonamici S, Cotesta S, Cowan-Jacob SW, Dodd S, Drueckes P, Fabbro D, Gabriel T, Groell JM, Grotzfeld RM, Hassan AQ, Henry C, Iyer V, Jones D, Lombardo F, Loo A, Manley PW, Pelle X, Rummel G, Salem B, Warmuth M, Wylie AA, Zoller T, Marzinzik AL, Furet P

Discovery of Asciminib (ABL001), an Allosteric Inhibitor of the Tyrosine Kinase Activity of BCR-ABL1.

J Med Chem. 2018 Sep 27;61(18):8120-8135. doi: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.8b01040. Epub 2018 Sep 7.

PubMed ID
30137981 [ View in PubMed
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Abstract

Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) arises from the constitutive activity of the BCR-ABL1 oncoprotein. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) that target the ATP-binding site have transformed CML into a chronic manageable disease. However, some patients develop drug resistance due to ATP-site mutations impeding drug binding. We describe the discovery of asciminib (ABL001), the first allosteric BCR-ABL1 inhibitor to reach the clinic. Asciminib binds to the myristate pocket of BCR-ABL1 and maintains activity against TKI-resistant ATP-site mutations. Although resistance can emerge due to myristate-site mutations, these are sensitive to ATP-competitive inhibitors so that combinations of asciminib with ATP-competitive TKIs suppress the emergence of resistance. Fragment-based screening using NMR and X-ray yielded ligands for the myristate pocket. An NMR-based conformational assay guided the transformation of these inactive ligands into ABL1 inhibitors. Further structure-based optimization for potency, physicochemical, pharmacokinetic, and drug-like properties, culminated in asciminib, which is currently undergoing clinical studies in CML patients.

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