p38α inhibitor 2 is a highly potent and selective p38α MAPK inhibitor, with a pIC 50 of 9.6. p38α inhibitor 2 inhibits the hERG ion channel (IC 50 =27 μM) and shows a promising selectivity profile when tested in a panel of 51 other protein kinases (<30% inhibition at 10 μM concentration) and a panel of 141 other biological targets