Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel 2,4-dianilinopyrimidine derivatives as potent dual janus kinase 2 and histone deacetylases inhibitors

•A series of 2,4-dianilinopyrimidine derivatives as potent dual JAK2 and HDAC inhibitors were synthesized.•Compound 7l demonstrated balanced and considerable inhibitory activity against JAK2 and HDAC1.•Compound 7l exhibited potent anticancer activity against tested cancer cell lines (A549, HepG-2, MDA-MB-231 and Jurkat).•Compound 7l induced cell death via apoptosis and cell cycle arrested in a dose-dependent manner.