Auranofin

Summary

Auranofin (CHEMBL1366) is an approved small molecule (ATC M01CB03) targeting TRPA1; indicated across 14 conditions including rheumatoid arthritis and rheumatic disorder.

At a glance

• Status: Approved (max clinical phase 4)
• Modality: Small molecule
• ATC class: M01CB03
• Targets: 1 (TRPA1)
• Indications: 14 conditions
• Clinical trials: 13
• Chemistry: 679.5 Da · C20H35AuO9PS

Identifiers

Drug identity and classification

Field	Value
ChEMBL ID	CHEMBL1366
Name	Auranofin
Type	Small molecule
Max phase	4
FDA approved	no
PubChem CID	70788951
ATC	M01CB03
Molecular formula	C20H35AuO9PS
Molecular weight	679.5
InChIKey	IRPYFWIZKIOHQN-XTZHGVARSA-N

SMILES: CC[PH+](CC)CC.CC(=O)OC[C@@H]1[C@H]([C@@H]([C@H]([C@@H](O1)[S-])OC(=O)C)OC(=O)C)OC(=O)C.[Au]

IUPAC name: gold;(2S,3R,4S,5R,6R)-3,4,5-triacetyloxy-6-(acetyloxymethyl)oxane-2-thiolate;triethylphosphanium

Also known as: Auranofin, Auranofina, Auranofine, NSC-321521, Ridaura, SK&F 39162, SK&F-39162, SK-39162, AURANOFIN, auranofin, Auronofin

Targets

Targets

Primary targets (GtoPdb curated mechanism): the Cancer dependency column is the DepMap CRISPR fitness signal (% of screened cell lines dependent on the target).

Gene	Target	Action	pAffinity	Cancer dependency	UniProt
TRPA1	TRPA1	Activation	6	0.1%	O75762

Broader ChEMBL bioactivity targets: 7 (assay-derived). Sample: Tyrosine-protein kinase Fyn, Alpha-2A adrenergic receptor, Alpha-2B adrenergic receptor, Glucocorticoid receptor, D(4) dopamine receptor, D(3) dopamine receptor, Adenosine receptor A3.

Bioactivity

ChEMBL activities: 13 potent at pChembl ≥ 5 of 13 total. Top 30 by potency (10 = 0.1 nM, 6 = 1 µM):

Target	pChembl	Type	Value	Unit	Activity ID
DRD3	6.65	Ki	224	nM	CHEMBL_ACT_7614568
ADRA2A	6.48	Ki	331	nM	CHEMBL_ACT_7613159
ADRA2B	6.44	Ki	363	nM	CHEMBL_ACT_7613161
DRD4	6.41	Ki	394	nM	CHEMBL_ACT_7614570
NR3C1	6.22	Ki	599	nM	CHEMBL_ACT_7614586
DRD3	6.18	IC50	659	nM	CHEMBL_ACT_7614567
ADRA2B	6.1	IC50	796	nM	CHEMBL_ACT_7613160
ADRA2A	6.05	IC50	884	nM	CHEMBL_ACT_7613158
ADORA3	6.02	Ki	954	nM	CHEMBL_ACT_7613149
DRD4	5.95	IC50	1123	nM	CHEMBL_ACT_7614569
FYN	5.92	IC50	1197	nM	CHEMBL_ACT_7616052
NR3C1	5.88	IC50	1317	nM	CHEMBL_ACT_7614585
ADORA3	5.77	IC50	1688	nM	CHEMBL_ACT_7613148

Target pathways

Aggregated over 1 target gene(s): TRPA1.

Top Reactome pathways

1 total, by targets touching each:

Pathway	Targets	Genes
TRP channels	1	TRPA1

Dominant GO biological processes

GO term	Targets
monoatomic ion transport	1
intracellular calcium ion homeostasis	1
cell surface receptor signaling pathway	1
response to cold	1
response to xenobiotic stimulus	1
urinary bladder smooth muscle contraction	1
sensory perception of pain	1
cellular response to heat	1
positive regulation of insulin secretion involved in cellular response to glucose stimulus	1
response to pain	1
thermoception	1
detection of mechanical stimulus involved in sensory perception of pain	1
detection of chemical stimulus involved in sensory perception of pain	1
protein homotetramerization	1
cellular response to hydrogen peroxide	1

Indications & clinical

Indications

14 indications (2 at ChEMBL trial phase 4). Phase below is the highest clinical-trial phase recorded for this drug against each disease — not the molecule’s overall approval status (that is in the Summary).

Indication	Trial phase	MONDO	EFO
rheumatoid arthritis	4	MONDO:0008383	EFO:0000685
rheumatic disorder	4	MONDO:0005554	EFO:0005755
B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia	2	MONDO:0004948	EFO:0000095
ovarian carcinoma	2	MONDO:0005140	EFO:0001075
tuberculosis	2	MONDO:0018076	MONDO:0018076
leukemia	2	MONDO:0005059	EFO:0000565
HIV infectious disease	1	MONDO:0005109	EFO:0000764
glioblastoma	1	MONDO:0018177	EFO:0000519
small cell lung carcinoma	1	MONDO:0008433	EFO:0000702
squamous cell lung carcinoma	1	MONDO:0005097	EFO:0000708
non-small cell lung carcinoma	1	MONDO:0005233	EFO:0003060
amebiasis	1	MONDO:0005644	EFO:0007144
lung adenocarcinoma	1	MONDO:0005061	EFO:0000571

1 further indication record had no mapped disease name (EFO/MeSH-only) or were duplicates, and are omitted.

Clinical trials

Total trials: 13.

Phase distribution

Phase	Trials
PHASE2	6
PHASE1/PHASE2	3
PHASE1	2
EARLY_PHASE1	1
Not specified	1

Top trials by phase / activity

NCT	Phase	Status	Title
NCT06805656	PHASE2	NOT_YET_RECRUITING	Multi Interventional Approaches to Mitigate HIV Reservoirs Aiming the Sustained HIV Remission Without Antiretrovirals
NCT01419691	PHASE2	COMPLETED	Phase I and II Study of Auranofin in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)
NCT01737502	PHASE1/PHASE2	COMPLETED	Sirolimus and Auranofin in Treating Patients With Advanced or Recurrent Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer or Small Cell Lung Cancer
NCT02063698	PHASE2	COMPLETED	Auranofin in Decreasing Pain in Patients With Paclitaxel-Induced Pain Syndrome
NCT02176135	PHASE1/PHASE2	WITHDRAWN	Oral Auranofin for Reduction of Latent Viral Reservoir in Patients With HIV Infection
NCT02736968	PHASE2	COMPLETED	Auranofin for Giardia Protozoa
NCT02770378	PHASE1/PHASE2	COMPLETED	A Proof-of-concept Clinical Trial Assessing the Safety of the Coordinated Undermining of Survival Paths by 9 Repurposed Drugs Combined With Metronomic Temozolomide (CUSP9v3 Treatment Protocol) for Recurrent Glioblastoma
NCT02968927	PHASE2	UNKNOWN	TB Host Directed Therapy
NCT03456700	PHASE2	TERMINATED	Auranofin and Sirolimus in Treating Participants With Ovarian Cancer
NCT02089048	PHASE1	COMPLETED	Auranofin PK Following Oral Dose Administration
NCT02126527	PHASE1	WITHDRAWN	Auranofin and Sirolimus in Treating Patients With Advanced Solid Tumors or Recurrent Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
NCT01747798	EARLY_PHASE1	COMPLETED	Auranofin in Treating Patients With Recurrent Epithelial Ovarian, Primary Peritoneal, or Fallopian Tube Cancer
NCT02961829	Not specified	COMPLETED	Multi Interventional Study Exploring HIV-1 Residual Replication: a Step Towards HIV-1 Eradication and Sterilizing Cure

Clinical evidence (CIViC)

No CIViC predictive evidence (expected for non-precision-medicine drugs).

Pharmacology

Pharmacogenomics

No PharmGKB pharmacogenomic data curated for this drug.

Related molecules

Related molecules

Molecules sharing ≥1 of this drug’s curated primary targets, merged from two biobtree sources and ranked by shared-target count, then clinical phase: ChEMBL clinical-stage candidates (development phase ≥2) and PubChem drug-class bioactivity (approved / known drugs acting on the target). Deduplicated by drug name; the drug’s own salt forms are excluded. Note: for a drug with few primary targets a shared-target match can reflect off-target / promiscuous binding rather than the same therapeutic mechanism — the phase ordering surfaces bona-fide therapeutics first.

27 molecules share ≥1 primary target. Top 27 by shared-target count:

Molecule	Source	Status	Shared targets
DICLOFENAC	ChEMBL + PubChem	Phase 4 (approved)	TRPA1
DISULFIRAM	ChEMBL + PubChem	Phase 4 (approved)	TRPA1
MEFENAMIC ACID	ChEMBL + PubChem	Phase 4 (approved)	TRPA1
MENTHOL	ChEMBL	Phase 4 (approved)	TRPA1
NICOTINE	ChEMBL	Phase 4 (approved)	TRPA1
RESVERATROL	ChEMBL + PubChem	Phase 3 (approved)	TRPA1
CANNABINOL	ChEMBL	Phase 3	TRPA1
ICILLIN	ChEMBL	Phase 3	TRPA1
LEVOMENTHOL	ChEMBL	Phase 3	TRPA1
ALLICIN	ChEMBL	Phase 2	TRPA1
CANNABIDIVARIN	ChEMBL	Phase 2	TRPA1
CANNABIGEROL	ChEMBL	Phase 2	TRPA1
CARVACROL	ChEMBL	Phase 2	TRPA1
CHLORDANTOIN	ChEMBL	Phase 2	TRPA1
FLUFENAMIC ACID	ChEMBL	Phase 2	TRPA1
RG6341	ChEMBL	Phase 2	TRPA1
SALIRASIB	ChEMBL	Phase 2	TRPA1
SANGUINARIUM	ChEMBL	Phase 2	TRPA1
TETRAHYDROCANNABIVARIN	ChEMBL	Phase 2	TRPA1
THYMOL	ChEMBL	Phase 2	TRPA1
Acetaldehyde	PubChem	Approved	TRPA1
Caffeine	PubChem	Approved	TRPA1
camphor (synthetic)	PubChem	Approved	TRPA1
dronabinol	PubChem	Approved	TRPA1
Eugenol	PubChem	Approved	TRPA1
menthol, unspecified form	PubChem	Approved	TRPA1
Propylene Glycol	PubChem	Approved	TRPA1