ENPP1 inhibitor with ultralong drug-target residence time as an innate immune checkpoint blockade cancer therapy
Only one in five patients is estimated to respond to immune checkpoint inhibitors, which primarily target adaptive immunity. To date, no FDA-approved immunotherapies directly activate the innate anti-cancer immunity--an essential driver of lymphocyte recruitment and potentiator of responses to existing cancer immunotherapies. ENPP1, the dominant hydrolase that degrades extracellular cGAMP and suppresses downstream STING-mediated innate immune signaling, has emerged as a promising therapeutic target. However, existing ENPP1 inhibitors have been optimized for prolonged systemic residence time rather than effective target inhibition within tumors. Here, we report the characterization of STF-1623, a highly potent ENPP1 inhibitor with an exceptionally long tumor residence time despite rapid systemic clearance, enabled by its high ENPP1 binding affinity and slow dissociation rate. We show that membrane-bound ENPP1 on tumor cells, not the abundant soluble ENPP1 in serum, drives tumor progression. Consequently, STF-1623 unleashes anti-tumor immunity and synergizes with ionizing radiation, anti-PD-L1 and anti-PD-1, and a DNA damaging agent to produce robust anti-tumor and anti-metastatic effects across multiple syngeneic mouse tumor models, all without detectable toxicity. Conceptually, this work establishes that a noncovalent small molecule inhibitor of ENPP1 with ultralong drug-target engagement offers a safe and precise strategy to activate STING within tumors, fulfilling an unmet need of innate immunotherapies in cancer. One Sentence SummaryA small molecule blocks ENPP1, reviving immune attack on tumors and enhancing immune therapy with minimal side effects in preclinical cancer models.