p53 Activator 16 (Compound JC16) is a p53 activator that shows selective cytotoxicity and pro-apoptotic (apoptosis) activity against cancer cells with the p53-Y220C mutation, while having minimal effects on wild-type or p53-null cells. It induces a conformational change in cellular p53-Y220C from mutant to wild-type, accompanied by transcriptional activation of p53 target genes, without increasing the overall level of p53 protein. p53 Activator 16 is useful for researching p53-mutant cancers.