Divergent Polypharmacology-Driven Cellular Activity of Structurally Similar Multi-Kinase Inhibitors through Cumulative Effects on Individual Targets

Despite recent successes of precision and immunotherapies there is a persisting need for novel targeted or multi-targeted approaches in complex diseases. Through a systems pharmacology approach, including phenotypic screening, chemical and phosphoproteomics, and RNA-seq, we elucidated the targets and mechanisms underlying the differential anticancer activity of two structurally related multi-kinase inhibitors, foretinib, and cabozantinib, in lung cancer cells. Biochemical and cellular target validation using probe molecules and RNAi revealed a polypharmacology mechanism involving MEK1/2, FER, and AURKB, which were each more potently inhibited by foretinib than cabozantinib. Based on this, we developed a synergistic combination of foretinib with barasertib, a more potent AURKB inhibitor, for MYC-amplified small-cell lung cancer. This systems pharmacology approach showed that small structural changes of drugs can cumulatively, through multiple targets, result in pronounced anticancer activity differences and that detailed mechanistic understanding of polypharmacology can enable repurposing opportunities for cancers with unmet medical need.