Translating Translation: Lessons from Zotatifin's Clinical Development and the Case for Trials in Lymphoma

The eIF4F complex initiates cap-dependent translation and sits downstream of several oncogenic signaling pathways. Its enzymatic core, the RNA helicase eIF4A1, is of interest as a drug target because inhibiting it reduces the synthesis of many oncoproteins at once. We review the basis for targeting eIF4A1, the clinical experience with drugs directed at the eIF4F axis, and the disease settings that should be prioritized next.

Rocaglates, the best-studied eIF4A1 inhibitors, clamp eIF4A1 onto polypurine sequences in 5' untranslated regions and deplete the corresponding mRNAs from the translating pool. The synthetic rocaglate zotatifin (eFT226) is the only compound of this class tested in patients, and its trials were limited to solid tumors before its developer wound down in 2024. In B-cell malignancies, eIF4A1 inhibition suppresses NRF2 translation. NRF2 loss alone does not cause ferroptosis, but it lowers the threshold for ferroptosis inducers and increases killing by CD19-directed chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) models. Other eIF4A-directed compounds, including pateamine A derivatives and hippuristanol, remain preclinical. Zotatifin is now under new ownership, and trials in lymphoma and other hematologic malignancies are anticipated. The preclinical evidence for eIF4A1 inhibition is strongest in B-cell malignancies, particularly DLBCL, but no trial has tested it in this setting. We argue that lymphoma should be prioritized in future trials, and that combinations with ferroptosis inducers and with CAR T-cell therapy should be evaluated early.