sb-431542 sb-431542 sb-431542 is a drug candidate developed by glaxosmithkline (gsk) as an inhibitor of the activin receptor-like kinase (alk) receptors, alk5, alk4 and alk7. however, it is not an inhibitor of anaplastic lymphoma kinase (which are commonly known as alk inhibitors). sb-431542 names preferred iupac name 4-benzamide identifiers cas number 301836-41-9 n 3d model (jsmol) interactive image chebi chebi:91108 y chembl chembl440084 chemspider 3716512 iuphar/bps 8216 pubchem cid 4521392 unii e1557v1v0n comptox dashboard (epa) dtxsid7042693 inchi inchi=1s/c22h16n4o3/c23-21(27)13-4-6-14(7-5-13)22-25-19(20(26-22)16-3-1-2-10-24-16)15-8-9-17-18(11-15)29-12-28-17/h1-11h,12h2,(h2,23,27)(h,25,26)key: fhyugajxyormhi-uhfffaoysa-ninchi=1/c22h16n4o3/c23-21(27)13-4-6-14(7-5-13)22-25-19(20(26-22)16-3-1-2-10-24-16)15-8-9-17-18(11-15)29-12-28-17/h1-11h,12h2,(h2,23,27)(h,25,26)key: fhyugajxyormhi-uhfffaoyan smiles nc(=o)c1ccc(cc1)c2nc(c3ccc4ococ4c3)c(2)c5ccccn5 properties chemical formula c22h16n4o3 molar mass 384.395 g·mol−1 except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °c , 100 kpa). infobox references in-vitro studies while sb-431542 has not proved directly useful for any clinical application, it is used for several applications in molecular biology. it suppresses the tgf-beta-induced proliferation of osteosarcoma cells in humans. treatment with sb431542 is a robust, clinically applicable, and efficient system for generating mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (mscs) from human ipscs. sb431542 can also be used in combination with ldn193189, chir99021 and dapt to transform astrocytes into neurons. it is also commonly used for immunological studies, for instance as a tgf-β inhibitor to facilitate the generation of dendritic cells from peripheral blood monocytes.