Towards the targeted protein degradation of CK2: design and synthesis of CAM4066-based PROTACs

• Sophie Day-Riley,
• Sona Krajcovicova,
• Aryaman Raj Sokhal,
• Jan L. Venne,
• Paul Brear,
• Marko Hyvönen,
• Benjamin C. Whitehurst,
• Jason S. Carroll and
• David R. Spring

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2026, 22, 611–619, doi:10.3762/bjoc.22.47

• conjugating a CAM4066-derived warhead to CRBN or VHL ligands, four VHL-recruiting PROTACs, were prepared using PEG and alkyl linkers, alongside two CRBN-recruiting analogues featuring constrained linkers. A ligand–linker analogue in which a linker is projected from the solvent-exposed region of CK2α retained

• binding affinity comparable to CAM4066, confirming that linker installation is tolerated and preserves key interactions in the αD and ATP sites. Keywords: CAM4066; casein kinase 2 (CK2); PROTACs; targeted protein degradation; Introduction Protein kinases form a large family of more than 500 enzymes that

• adjacent to the ATP-binding site of CK2α [5][6]. Fragment-based ligand discovery subsequently enabled the development of CAM4066, a selective inhibitor that simultaneously engages the αD and ATP sites. CAM4066 validated the αD region as a tractable and selective binding pocket for CK2 kinase inhibition