Discovery and optimization of 4-anilinoquinazoline derivatives spanning ATP binding site and allosteric site as effective EGFR-C797S inhibitors

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is an effective drug target for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, a tertiary point mutation (C797S) at the ATP binding pocket of the EGFR induces resistance to the third-generation EGFR inhibitors, due to the loss of covalent interaction with Cys797. Here, we designed a series of 4-anilinoquinazoline derivatives that simultaneously occupied the ATP binding pocket and the allosteric site. The newly-synthesized compounds displayed high potency against EGFR-C797S resistance mutation. Among them, compound 14d presented high anti-proliferative effect against BaF3-EGFR^{L858R/T790M/C797S} (IC₅₀ = 0.75 μM) and BaF3-EGFR^{19del/T790M/C797S} (IC₅₀ = 0.09 μM) cells. Moreover, 14d resulted in obvious inhibition activities against EGFR and its downstream signaling pathways in a dose-dependent manner in BaF3-EGFR^{19del/T790M/C797S} cells. Finally, 14d significantly inhibited tumor growth in BaF3-EGFR^{19del/T790M/C797S} xenograft model (30 mg/kg, TGI = 67.95%). These results demonstrated that 14d is a novel and effective EGFR-C797S inhibitor which spanning the ATP binding pocket and the allosteric site and effective both in vitro and in vivo.