Novel 3-substituted coumarins inspire a custom pharmacology prediction pipeline: an anticancer discovery adventure

<b>Aim:</b> This research aims to expand the established pharmacological space of tumor-associated carbonic anhydrases (TACAs) by exploring the synthetically accessible chemical space of 3-substituted coumarins, with the help of <i>in silico</i> pharmacology prediction.<b>Materials & methods:</b> 52 novel 3-substituted coumarins were sketched, prioritizing synthetic feasibility. Their pharmacological potentials were estimated using a custom machine-learning approach. 17 compounds were predicted as cytotoxic against HeLa cells by interfering with TACAs. Those compounds were synthesized and biologically tested against HeLa cells. The three most potent compounds were assayed against multiple carbonic anhydrases, and their enzyme binding mechanism(s) were studied using molecular docking.<b>Results:</b> Experimental results exhibited pronounced consensus with <i>in silico</i> pharmacology predictions.<b>Conclusion:</b> Novel 3-substituted coumarins are herein dispatched to the cancer therapeutics space.