Gu J, Qian L, Zhang G, et al. - Researchers investigated the involvement of ACK1 (a non-receptor tyrosine kinase with an oncogenic function) in regulating cell response to osimertinib (third generation EGFR inhibitor). They assessed drug impacts on cell growth by quantifying cell numbers and colony formation. In inhibiting the growth of EGFR mutant NSCLC cell lines, ACK1 inhibition using novel the ACK1 inhibitor, ( R)- 9b synergized with osimertinib. ACK1 gene knockdown also provided similar results. An enhanced induction of apoptosis was induced by the combination of osimertinib and ( R)- 9b. A delay in the emergence of osimertinib resistance was clearly brought about by the combination of ( R)- 9b and osimertinib, as revealed in both in vitro and in vivo long-term resistance delay assays. Based on these novel observations, ACK1 inhibition was concluded to possibly be a potential as well as innovative strategy for delaying and overcoming osimertinb acquired resistance.