Discovery of OSI-906: a selective and orally efficacious dual inhibitor of the IGF-I receptor and insulin receptor

Background: The IGF-I receptor (IGF-IR) has been implicated in the promotion of tumorigenesis, metastasis and resistance to cancer therapies. Therefore, this receptor has become a major focus for the development of anticancer agents. Results: Our lead optimization efforts that blended structure-based design and empirical medicinal chemistry led to the discovery of OSI-906, a novel small-molecule dual IGF-IR/insulin receptor (IR) kinase inhibitor. OSI-906 potently and selectively inhibits autophosphorylation of both human IGF-IR and IR, displays in vitro antiproliferative effects in a variety of tumor cell lines and shows robust in vivo anti-tumor efficacy in an IGF-I R-driven xenograft model when administered orally once daily. Conclusion: OSI-906 is a novel, potent, selective and orally bioavailable dual IGF-IR/IR kinase inhibitor with favorable preclinical drug-like properties, which has demonstrated in vivo efficacy in tumor models and is currently in clinical testing.