Discovery of Novel Dual Extracellular Regulated Protein Kinases (ERK) and Phosphoinositide 3-Kinase (PI3K) Inhibitors as a Promising Strategy for Cancer Therapy

Concomitant inhibition of MAPK and PI3K signaling pathways has been recognized as a promising strategy for cancer therapy, which effectively overcomes the drug resistance of MAPK signaling pathway-related inhibitors. Herein, we report the scaffold-hopping generation of a series of 1H-pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine dual ERK/PI3K inhibitors. Compound 32d was the most promising candidate, with potent inhibitory activities against both ERK2 and PI3Kα which displays superior anti-proliferative profiles against HCT116 and HEC1B cancer cells. Meanwhile, compound 32d possessed acceptable pharmacokinetic profiles and showed more efficacious anti-tumor activity than GDDC-0980 and the corresponding drug combination (BVD-523 + GDDC-0980) in HCT-116 xenograft model, with a tumor growth inhibitory rate of 51% without causing observable toxic effects. All the results indicated that 32d was a highly effective anticancer compound and provided a promising basis for further optimization towards dual ERK/PI3K inhibitors.