Tyrosine kinase inhibitors. 8. An unusually steep structure-activity relationship for analogues of 4-(3-bromoanilino)-6,7-dimethoxyquinazoline (PD 153035), a potent inhibitor of the epidermal growth factor receptor

4-(3-Bromoanilino)-6,7-dimethoxyquinazoline (32, PD 153035) is a very potent inhibitor (IC50 0.025 nM) of the tyrosine kinase activity of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), binding competitively at the ATP site. Structure-activity relationships for close analogues of 32 are very steep. Some derivatives have IC50s up to 80-fold better than predicted from simple additive binding energy arguments, yet analogues possessing combinations of similar phenyl and quinazoline substituents do not show this "supra-additive" effect. Because some substituents which are mildly deactivating by themselves can be strongly activating when used in the correct combinations, it is proposed that certain substituted analogues possess the ability to induce a change in the conformation of the receptor when they bind. There is some bulk tolerance for substitution in the 6- and 7-positions of the quinazoline, so that 32 is not the optimal inhibitor for the induced conformation. The diethoxy derivative 56 [4-(3-bromoanilino)-6,7-diethoxyquinazoline] shows an IC50 of 0.006 nM, making it the most potent inhibitor of the tyrosine kinase activity of the EGFR yet reported.