Discovery of Dabrafenib: A Selective Inhibitor of Raf Kinases with Antitumor Activity against B-Raf-Driven Tumors

Hyperactive signaling of the MAP kinase pathway resulting from the constitutively active B-Raf(v600E) mutated enzyme has been observed in a number of human tumors, including melanomas. Herein we report the discovery and biological evaluation of GSK2118436, a selective inhibitor of Raf kinases with potent in vitro activity in oncogenic B-Raf-driven melanoma and colorectal carcinoma cells and robust in vivo antitumor and pharmacodynamic activity in mouse models of B-Raf(v600E) human melanoma. GSK2118436 was identified as a development candidate, and early clinical results have shown significant activity in patients with B-Raf mutant melanoma.