Discovery of Selenium-Containing STING Agonists as Orally Available Antitumor Agents

Activation of the stimulator of interferon genes (STING) pathway to achieve antitumor response is an attractive approach for cancer immunotherapy. In this study, we report the identification of BSP16 (LF250) as a potent, orally available STING agonist. BSP16 strongly activates STING signaling in human and mouse cells and binds STING as a homodimer. A 2.4 Å cocrystal structure revealed that BSP16 could induce the “closed” conformation of STING. In vivo studies revealed that BSP16 is well tolerated, has an excellent pharmacokinetic profile as an oral drug, and induces tumor regression and durable antitumor immunity. The promising bioactivities of BSP16 make it valuable for further development as an antitumor agent.