Development of an Orally Bioavailable LCK PROTAC Degrader as a Potential Therapeutic Approach to T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Despite significant advances over recent years, the treatment of T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) remains challenging. We have recently shown that a subset of T-ALL cases exhibited constitutive activation of the lymphocyte-specific protein tyrosine kinase (LCK) and were consequently responsive to treatments with LCK inhibitors and degraders such as dasatinib and dasatinib-based PROTACs. Here we report the design, synthesis and in vitro/vivo evaluation of SJ45566, a potent and orally bioavailable LCK PROTAC.