Drugtamer‐PROTAC Conjugation Strategy for Targeted PROTAC Delivery and Synergistic Antitumor Therapy

Abstract

Abstract Proteolysis‐targeting chimeras (PROTACs) have emerged as a promising strategy for targeted protein degradation and drug discovery. To overcome the inherent limitations of conventional PROTACs, an innovative drugtamer‐PROTAC conjugation approach is developed to enhance tumor targeting and antitumor potency. Specifically, a smart prodrug is designed by conjugating “drugtamer” to a nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT) PROTAC using a tumor microenvironment responsible linker. The “drugtamer” consists of fluorouridine nucleotide and DNA‐like oligomer. Compared to NAMPT PROTAC and the combination of PROTAC + fluorouracil, the designed prodrug AS‐2F‐NP demonstrates superior tumor targeting, efficient cellular uptake, improved in vivo potency and reduced side effects. This study provides a promising strategy for the precise delivery of PROTAC and synergistic antitumor agents.

Keywords

• drug combination
• drugtamer
• fluorouracil
• NAMPT
• PROTAC