The design of kinase inhibitors targeting the oncogenic kinase BCR-ABL constitutes a promising paradigm for treating chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML). Nevertheless, the efficacy of imatinib, the first FDA-approved targeted therapy for CML, is curbed by the emergence of resistance. Herein, we report the identification of the 2-methoxyphenyl ureidobenzothiazole
AK-HW-90 (2b)
as a potent pan-BCR-ABL inhibitor against imatinib-resistant mutants, particularly T315I. A concise array of six compounds
2a
–
f
was designed based on our previously reported benzothiazole lead
AKE-5l
to improve its BCR-ABL
T315I
inhibitory activity. Replacing the 6-oxypicolinamide moiety of
AKE-5l
with
o
-methoxyphenyl and changing the propyl spacer with phenyl afforded
2a
and
AK-HW-90 (2b)
with IC
50
values of 2.0 and 0.65 nM against BCR-ABL
T315I
, respectively.
AK-HW-90
showed superior anticancer potency to imatinib against multiple cancer cells (NCI), including leukaemia K-562. The obtained outcomes offer
AK-HW-90
as a promising candidate for the treatment of CML and other types of cancer.