tivantinib tivantinib tivantinib (arq197; by arqule, inc.) is an experimental small molecule anti-cancer drug. it is a bisindolylmaleimide that binds to the dephosphorylated met kinase in vitro. (met is a growth factor receptor.) tivantinib is being tested clinically as a highly selective met inhibitor. however, the mechanism of action of tivantinib is still unclear. tivantinibclinical dataother namesarq197; arq-197routes ofadministrationoralatc codenonelegal statuslegal status investigational identifiers iupac name (3r,4r)-3-(5,6-dihydro-4h-pyrroloquinolin-1-yl)-4-(1h-indol-3-yl)-2,5-pyrrolidinedione cas number905854-02-6pubchem cid11494412chemspider9669218uniipj4h73il17keggd10173chemblchembl2103882comptox dashboard (epa)dtxsid60920316 echa infocard100.231.891 chemical and physical dataformulac23h19n3o2molar mass369.424 g·mol−13d model (jsmol)interactive image smiles c1cc2=c3c(=cc=c2)c(=cn3c1)4(c(=o)nc4=o)c5=cnc6=cc=cc=c65 inchi inchi=1s/c23h19n3o2/c27-22-19(16-11-24-18-9-2-1-7-14(16)18)20(23(28)25-22)17-12-26-10-4-6-13-5-3-8-15(17)21(13)26/h1-3,5,7-9,11-12,19-20,24h,4,6,10h2, (h,25,27,28)/t19-,20-/m0/s1key:uceqxrcjxivodc-pmacekpbsa-n tivantinib displays cytotoxic activity via molecular mechanisms that are independent from its ability to bind met, notably tubulin binding, which likely underlies tivantinib cytotoxicity. possible applications include non-small-cell lung carcinoma, hepatocellular carcinoma, and oesophageal cancer. in 2017, it was announced that a phase iii clinical trial for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma had failed to meet the primary endpoint.